Inter v Empoli

Any result other than a victory for Inter will almost certainly spell the end of their Serie A title hopes for this season.They’re two points behind AC Milan so are already relying on favours. The Nerazzurri can put pressure on their city rivals though by beating an Empoli side that are unlikely to pose much of a challenge.

Inter are still the top scorers in Serie A but if the recent win over Udinese and the defeat to Bologna are anything to go by, they’ve lost the ability to really put teams to the sword. They seemed comfortable in both of those games but they conceded all three points to the Rossoblu and had to endure a nervy finish against Udinese.

That is why it is easy to imagine them not putting a hatful of goals past Empoli on Friday evening in the early kick-off. They should still win the game, but attention may quickly turn to conserving energy if they do take the lead.

As for Empoli, the shock win against Napoli a couple of weeks appears to have been a flash in the pan rather than the start of an upturn in form as they were beaten by Torino in their last match. They are unlikely to be contributing heavily to the scoring and Simone Inzaghi will be really annoyed if his team do not get a clean sheet at the Giuseppe Meazza on Friday.

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Genoa v Juventus

This is not a fixture that Genoa will be looking forward to given they simply have to win at least one, likely two, of their remaining three games to avoid the drop. Last weekend’s defeat in the Derby della Lanterna against Sampdoria effectively ensured survival for their city rivals. It also left Genoa three points away from safety.

Juventus have become an extremely difficult team to beat in the second half of the season as Massimiliano Allegri has put not conceding at the forefront of their gameplan. That is why the division’s lowest scorers are very unlikely to find the back of the net. Genoa have only scored 25 times all season.

They’re unlikely to be on the end of a hiding either, though. Juventus are the joint-second lowest scorers in the top half. Only Torino have scored less than the Bianconeri.

Another ominous element to this fixture for Genoa is that Juventus are only one point behind third-placed Napoli. By overtaking the Azzurri, they can avoid a qualification round to get into the Champions League. It also means ending up in a higher pot when the group stage draw is eventually made later in 2022. There’s an incentive for Juve to go for it but as we know, that does not often mean an abundance of goals.

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Torino v Napoli

Both of these teams are now sure of their fate after what has in many ways been a positive season for both.

It may not feel like that to Napoli fans right now as they were until recently in the title fight, but a return to the Champions League has to be celebrated after missing out on the final day last season.

Their job now is to hold onto third place and avoid being overtaken by Juventus in the final three games of the season. They should have enough about them to beat Torino even if it is likely to take some patience and clinical finishing.With a full crop of attacking players available to Luciano Spalletti, they should be able to create chances even against one of the meanest defences in Serie A.

It is the defence that Ivan Juric has focused on the most this season and that is why he could be about to record a top-half finish with the Granata in his first season in charge. That represents good progress towards trying to knock on the door of those lower European qualification spots that proved a step too far this season.

Torino will make it tough for Napoli and they will be as compact as ever, but with little to play for and the quality of Napoli’s attackers, an away win is on the cards.

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Sassuolo v Udinese

Before Gabriele Cioffi took charge of Udinese, predicting a high scoring match that they were involved in would have been absurd. Such is the way that he has changed the Friulians, you’d now back them to find the net against almost anyone in Serie A. They were unlucky not to snatch a late point with a second goal against Inter last time out and they’ll back themselves to score some goals against Sassuolo.

The Neroverdi were pumped 6-1 by Napoli last weekend which is a testament to how unusual they are. They could just as easily concede six goals as they could score six goals. They will be with all of their talented attackers for this game on Saturday at the Mapei Stadium and the likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Domenico Berardi, Giacomo Raspadori and Hamed Traore will be doing all they can to show the bigger teams why they are worth the investment this summer.

Both teams have something to play for too. A place in the top half is up for grabs. For Udinese in particular, that would be an immense achievement considering their poor start to the campaign. Both teams have a habit of scoring and conceding plenty in the second half of the season so logic dictates that there will be fireworks when they meet on Saturday.

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Lazio v Sampdoria

Sampdoria have almost certainly secured their Serie A status with that 1-0 Derby della Lanterna win over Genoa last weekend. It was hardly an impressive win but they took their chance when it came along and managed to keep their city rivals out.

This is a tough game for that shaky defence to face even if they are now under less pressure to deliver. Lazio are right in the midst of an extremely tight battle for fifth place and a place in the group stages of the Europa League.

An even bigger incentive for Maurizio Sarri’s side to take no prisoners this weekend is the fact that Roma are the team currently occupying fifth place. Lazio have become a much more balanced side in the second half of the season and whilst they are still very difficult to predict, you would back them to have enough firepower to beat a pretty hapless Sampdoria side.

Ciro Immobile is, as always, in pretty devastating form at the moment and he will see a chance to add even more to his goal tally. Pedro is the only major Bianconcelesti attacker out injured at the moment too so Sampdoria will be really up against it from the first whistle. It would be a serious disappointment to the fans at the Stadio Olimpico if their team lost ground in the Europa League race here.

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