Atalanta v Cagliari 

Serie A returns and the recent international break couldn’t have come at a better time for Gian Piero Gasperini and Atalanta as an outbreak of COVID-19 in the camp saw their squad decimated, while also having to manage injuries as well.

Duvan Zapata is expected to return to the bench, where he’ll be joined by new faces Jeremie Boga and Valentin Mihaila – January arrivals from Sassuolo and Parma respectively. In the XI, Luis Muriel should lead the line with the support of both Ruslan Malinovskyi and Mario Pasalic.

Cagliari ware expected to have a new face in their starting line-up as well in Daniele Baselli, though he’s a familiar name in Bergamo having come through at Atalanta, much like midfield partner Alberto Grassi. Atalanta loanee Matteo Lovato is also likely to start against his parent club.  They will be without the suspended Joao Pedro, though may still feel confident of giving Atalanta problems given the hosts have leaked 15 goals at home this season, more than Spezia and just three fewer than Genoa.

La Dea have won each of their last five meetings with the Isolani, last doing so 2-1 in November courtesy of a Duvan Zapata brace in Sardinia.

Having managed to come through their January schedule relatively unscathed despite facing Inter and Lazio with a second-string team, it’s hard to look beyond backing Atalanta to take the points in Bergamo, though the majority of their problems have come at home in recent seasons.

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Bologna v Empoli

Sinisa Mihajlovic’s Bologna host an Empoli side who will make the relatively short trip from Tuscany to Emilia-Romagna hoping to get back to their early-season form after a recent dip.

The Azzurri might well look to use Musa Barrow’s Africa Cup of Nations fatigue to their advantage, with the Gambian having recently returned from Cameroon where he enjoyed some success, and they have the sixth best away record in the Italian top flight this term, behind Atalanta, AC Milan, Inter, Napoli, and Juventus.

Empoli are without a win in seven between Serie A and the Coppa Italia though, but they’ll no doubt remember their 4-2 win over the Rossoblu in September and look to take belief from it, and only once since October has either side ended a game involving Empoli with a clean sheet, that being the Azzurri in their 1-0 win over Napoli on December 12.

Scotland’s Liam Henderson is likely to start for Empoli in this one, and he’ll want to build on an impressive hat-trick he bagged in a friendly over the international break, though Nedim Bajrami remains the biggest threat for Aurelio Andreazzoli’s men.

Bologna will be without their own Scot Aaron Hickey through suspension, but Mihajlovic has an otherwise strong squad of players to choose from.

Sampdoria v Sassuolo

 Sassuolo begin life without Jeremie Boga on Sunday as they travel to Liguria to face struggling Sampdoria, who themselves are looking to kickstart their season under returning coach Marco Giampaolo after parting ways with Roberto D’Aversa.

Having loaned Inter’s Stefano Sensi on transfer deadline day, Samp will be desperate for the Italian champion to make an instant impact under Giampaolo, and if the Blucerchiati can play as they did in his first spell in charge at Marassi then the ex-Sassuolo midfielder could be a perfect fit alongside fellow new signing Tomas Rincon.

Alessio Dionisi is able to call upon a close-to full squad for Sunday’s trip to the coast, and he’ll be hoping to see Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori continue their recent form.

Intriguingly, Sassuolo have lost just one of their last 10 Serie A meetings with Sampdoria, and this is the forature to have seen the highest percentage of 0-0 draws – 29 percent of games played between the two since 2000 ending scoreless.

As well, among the sides they’ve played at least seven times at home in Serie A, Samp have achieved the fewest wins against Sassuolo – winning one of eight there.

Venezia v Napoli

Victor Osimhen will be sporting a brand-new face mask as he visits Venice on Sunday, with Napoli taking on Venezia at the Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo in one of the afternoon kick offs knowing that they need to keep on picking up wins to stay competitive in the title race.

With Inter having faced AC Milan on Saturday, Napoli have a chance to gain ground on their fellow title contenders with a win in Veneto. Luciano Spalletti will be able to call upon the majority of his squad for the tie, though Kalidou Koulibaly and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa are still away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The two met at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on the season’s opening day, with the Partenopei claiming a hard-fought 2-0 win on that occasion after Osimhen was given an early red card midway through the first half.

This time, though, Venezia come into the game with some Serie A experience behind them and they having since beaten Roma and Fiorentina at the Penzo, no doubt keen for a similarly memorable result this Sunday.

History suggests, though, that Napoli will have the upper hand and they’ve gone unbeaten in their last seven against Venezia – winning four of those. They last lost to Venezia in Serie A in 1942. This season, Napoli’s 384 shot tally is higher than anybody else in Serie A, while Venezia’s 201 is the lowest.

Udinese v Torino

 Two of Serie A’s less fashionable sides in recent seasons meet in Friuli Venezia Giulia as Udinese play host to Torino, though Ivan Juric has the Granata showing more positive signs since his appointment last summer.

Gerard Deulofeu and Gleison Bremer’s absences will be felt by their respective sides, though Toro will also have to do without captain Andrea Belotti as his long-term injury problems continue.

A 2-1 win over Udinese in November allowed Torino to continue their impressive record against the Zebrette, and they’ve gone unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 Serie A clashes with Sunday’s opponents, winning seven of those.

Only Genoa have more draws than Udinese’s nine in Serie A this season, and they will do their utmost to deny mid-table Torino leaving with maximum points in their own continued battle to stay away from the relegation zone.

While Torino have fewer goals scored than anybody else in the top 12 this season and Udinese boast the best defensive record in the bottom half, goals may well be at a premium in this.

Any joy Udinese do find in front of goal is likely to have Beto involved in some way, having scored four in his last six at the Dacia Arena.

Juventus v Verona

Juventus were many people’s queens of the transfer window in Italy, and now the Old Lady’s attention turns to making sure their investment has the desired impact on the pitch starting by welcoming Hellas Verona to the Allianz Stadium.

Verona beat Juventus when the two sides met earlier this season in what was one of the many low points suffered by Massimiliano Allegri’s men pre-Christmas, but their form has since dipped somewhat and Juventus are unbeaten since late November in 90 minutes.

That 2-1 win in the reverse fixture came largely thanks to Giovanni Simeone’s tireless work and clinical finishing up front, but the Argentine is suspended for this one and with 28 percent of Verona’s goals being his this season, he’ll be sorely missed.

While Verona are likely to be missing a goalscorer, Juventus have just brought in Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina in the hope that he’ll carry the load that Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala have so far struggled to carry up top since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure.

It’s hard to look beyond Juventus for this one, and they’re unbeaten in each of the 30 home games they’ve played against Verona in the top flight, winning 25 of those.

Salernitana v Spezia

Salernitana host Spezia on Monday evening in a game that presents a huge opportunity to each side, both knowing a win would help them considerably in their respective battles against the drop.

In an attempt to address their problem of having Serie A’s worst defensive record this season, Salernitana drafted in Luigi Sepe from the wilderness of Parma in January and they’ll need their new goalkeeper to hit the ground running to stand any chance at survival this season.

But sitting rock bottom with 11 points and 53 goals conceded, things look bleak for Salernitana and they lost striker Simy Nwankwo to Parma in January, ending his underwhelming spell in Salerno.

Spezia will undoubtedly look to make Sepe’s debut a tough one, and they’ll want to test the No.1 as he returns to the pitch for the first time since May 2021, having been exiled at the Stadio Tardini as the Gialloblu looked to force him out last summer to cut costs.

Though their recent meetings have tended to come in the lower divisions, Spezia have won each of their last four league matches against Monday’s hosts, with three of those coming in Serie B.

Salernitana, though, won six of their last eight home games against the Aquilotti, but they lost their last in July 2020.

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