What’s the league table look like? How were clubs playing? Where are they headed? Let’s take a peak team by team top to bottom.
NAPOLI – WWW (Last 3) – 8 points clear at the top. 11 straight league wins. Finished top of their Champions League group. No injuries to speak of. No players with significant time at the World Cup. Hottest young talent in the league in Kvaratskhelia. Highest scoring offense. Third best defense. Virtually nothing has gone wrong so far. Offseason refresh decisions have been flawless. Big game with Inter to start the second half of the league slate with a bang. What could possibly go wrong for the Winter Champions?
MILAN – WDD – Uneven first half strewn with injuries and uninspiring performances. Pioli pulled a masterclass by staying in second and also advancing to the CL group stage. Second half starts with a tricky trip to Salernitana.
JUVENTUS – WWW – Second hottest team in the league winning their last 6 before the break. Also have Chiesa back in training and are hoping to see Pogba back soon. Best defense in the league. All that and grumpy Juve fans still want to run Allegri out of town. Meanwhile Max has righted the ship and has them steamrolling towards a top 4 finish. Should start the second half with an easy win away to Cremonese.
LAZIO – WWL – Year 2 of Sarri ball has Lazio playing some excellent ball. Milenkovic-Savic is playing his best ball in 2 years, Zaccagni is killing it and the backline has been refreshed. No longer relying on Immobile to score every time out they now boast the second best defense in the league. Provedel might be the signing of the season posting 9 clean sheets in 14 starts. Second half begins with a tricky trip to 16th place Lecce.
INTER – LWW – It’s feast or famine for Inter early on as they have 10 wins but also 5 losses. The back line has been iffy (14th worst defense) and the keeper spot for the first time in years is up in the air. Fortunately they are still scoring at a rate of 2+ goals per game. It’s also a more balanced attack with Lautaro leading the way. Lots of questions for the second including if or when Lukaku contributes. Second half begins with a marquee home game against first place Napoli.
ATALANTA – LLL – Sputtered into the break losing 4 of their last 5 after being at or near the top spot for the first 10 weeks. Good home form ( 11 points from 8) remains elusive for them as once again they have been better on the road (16 points from 7) this campaign. With the offense sputtering finding better form at home will be key if they are to regain a spot in Europe for next year. A trip to Spezia might be just the tonic Gasperini’s group needs.
ROMA – LDD – Roma also sputtered blowing a chance to leap up the table right before the WC break. Wins against top sides remain elusive for Mourinho since returning to Serie A. Abrahams struggles are not helping. A healthy Dybala lighting things up might be just what they need down the stretch. Second half begins at home to a spirited Bologna group.
UDINESE – DDL – This completes the triumvirate of early season league leaders that crashed and burned leading up to the break. Through 7 weeks they looked like a lock for top 4 and Deulofeu was headed towards league MVP. Since then they have 5 points from 8 and have slowly tumbled down the table. The offense has remained ok but the backline could use some January window help. Second half begins with a home date against Empoli.
TORINO – LWD – If it’s the middle of the pack then it must be time for Torino! Beat the bad teams? Check. Struggle against the top 7? Check. Get bailed out by Belotti? Well not anymore. The name of the game now is a balanced (READ POOR) offense and making home games a war. Vlasic has proved to be a nice addition but they need to find other scoring options. Though they are 9th in the table they are 16th in xG. Last place Hellas come visiting on Wednesday.
FIORENTINA – WWL – Italiano got destroyed by narrow minded pundits the first few months of the year while the team struggled to score goals and get results in the league. Meanwhile they were kicking ass in the Conference League easily advancing. Now here they are winning 2 of their last 3 before the break and solidly midtable. They may have to cross the bridge of choosing to focus on the league or Europe at some point but so far they are managing both with a pretty limited squad. Second half begins with a big showdown with resurgent Monza.
BOLOGNA – WLW – Thiago Motta took over for the ailing Mihajlovic and has done a solid job. Arnautovic remains the main target (8 goals) but he has gotten some help the last few games from the likes of Ferguson and Orsolini. Expect Ferguson to be the next FB to sign for big money after shining there. Bologna desperately need some help at CB but the offense remians good enough for them to be a threat in most games. Second half kicks off with a trip to Roma.
SALERNITANA – DLL – Last years cinderella story has proved they belong during the first leg of the Serie A season. Dia has been an excellent addition on loan from Villareal leading the front line with 6 goals. They sputtered for a moment but a road win at Lazio has kept them solidly midtable. Second half begins at home against Milan.
EMPOLI – WLW – Scraped by at the end of last season but like Salernitana proving they belong. Sold half their squad last January but reloaded with a solid defense this term. Vicario has been STELLAR between the sticks keeping them in most games. Chances have been few and far between in the attack. Could be very active in the window. Look forward to seeing how well they hold up down the stretch. Second half begins away to Udinese.
MONZA – WLW – Everybody, including myself, said Monza was gonna take a while to find their footing. They signed a TON of new players and would need time to gel. So what did they do? Started with 5 straight losses. Then what happened? They gained 16 points from the next 10 including their first league win against Juventus. Hard to say how long this keeps up but it’s safe to say Silvio and Uncle Fester are here to stay. Play resumes Wednesday away to Fiorentina.
SASSUOLO – LDL – One of the worst defenses in the league last year… so what did they do in the offseason? Sold several attacking players and added virtually nothing at the back. What happened? Well they expectedly are struggling to score but they’ve also become rock solid in the back. A team that gave up almost 2 goals a game last year is now conceding just 1 per game this term. How? Stay tuned. Second half begins at home to struggling Sampdoria.
LECCE – DWW – Most team picked Lecce to go straight back down yet here they are 8 points from the drop after 15 rounds. How? Falcone has been amazing in goal. My choice for first half MVP. Hjulmond has been fantastic at center mid as has Pongracic at CB. The attack hasn’t been stellar but both Ceesay and Colombo have done well alongside Stefezza. My underdog hope to stay up I really like watching them play. Hosts Lazio on Wednesday.
SPEZIA – LDW – Beat both Samp and Hellas during the first half to keep them safe, Nzola scoring 3 over those 2 fixtures. If all they have to do is essentially win this ‘Bottom 4’ league to survive I think they can do it. Nzola has 7 goals and has enough magic to keep them in most contests. Replacing Dragowski in goal will be massive. Alongside Nzola easily their first half MVP. Home to Atalanta next.
CREMONESE – DDL – They are in way over their head and most likely headed down. Winless yet somehow not in last. Says a lot more about the teams behind them than anything else. Okereke already playing for a spot in Serie A next year and looks the part. Home to Juve to start the second half.
SAMPDORIA – LLL /HELLAS – LLL – I’m lumping these 2 together because this is embarrassing. Neither of these clubs should be this far down but it’s not entirely unexpected by me. Last spring I pointed out in my RealAge column that both teams needed a massive overhaul. They were not only old but had no youngsters getting minutes. They don’t play any youth and rely far too much on worthless vets. Andre Conti anyone? LOL! If either is to escape they will need to make sweeping changes here in January. That being said both have chances to start the second half right on Wednesday. Samp is away to Sassuolo and Hellas is away to Torino. But tough road teams but also games where a solid accounting could at least bring home a draw.
There it is folks. It’s gonna be a wild ride so buckle up. Predictions? Napoli wins the league. Top 4? Napoli, Juve, Milan, Lazio. Leave your own prognostications in the comments.
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FORZA
Lisi