Inter maintained their two-point lead over Juventus in round No. 19. Now, Serie A moves into the second half of the campaign, with a title fight on the cards.
There is also a battle at the bottom of the table, 14th place and 20th place separated by just seven points.
Genoa won just one of their last six games versus Torino in all competitions. Torino claimed a 1-0 home victory in the reverse fixture. It was the second consecutive 1-0 scoreline between the clubs.
Torino are coming off a 3-0 win over reigning champions Napoli. Nineteen of Torino’s 27 points have come at home this season. Playing on the road has yielded a mere eight points for Il Toro.
Genoa will hope to take advantage of Torino’s poor road form. The Grifone will go into the game unbeaten in four consecutive Serie A games. However, three of those matches ended in draws.
Three of the last six matches between Hellas Verona and Empoli ended in draws. Verona claimed two wins in the remaining three fixtures between the sides. Empoli fell 1-0 at home to Hellas Verona earlier this season.
This is a relegation six-point affair, as Hellas Verona will start the round in 18th place and Empoli will begin the round in 19th place. A win for either side could get them out of the relegation zone.
Verona lost their last two Serie A matches by a combined score of 3-1. Empoli failed to win their last six Serie A games, drawing three matches and losing three times.
Serie A surprise package Bologna will visit Sardinia to face Cagliari on Sunday. Bologna will begin the round in fifth place, but Thiago Motta’s side has stumbled lately, failing to win their last two league matches.
Cagliari are 17th in the division and battling against relegation. They failed to win their last two Serie A games, drawing two and losing two. Cagliari scored just two goals in the last four matches.
Bologna are just one point off the top four. However, the Rossoblu won just one of their last six away matches. Bologna won the reverse fixture at home 2-1. However, Cagliari won their last two games against Bologna played on Sardinia.
The last six matches in all competitions between Fiorentina and Udinese were split down the middle three wins apiece. All six games saw the winning team keep clean sheets. In the reverse fixture played in September in Udine, Fiorentina won 2-0.
Indeed Fiorentina defeated Udinese in the teams’ last two encounters by identical 2-0 scorelines. La Viola will begin the weekend in fourth place. They are coming off a shock 1-0 loss to relegation-battling Sassuolo. The defeat ended a five-game unbeaten run.
Udinese are 16th and fighting the drop. They won just one of their last six Serie A matches. Udinese fell 2-1 to Lazio at home last time out.