The 2024 Serie A title race has already been won but there are still plenty more matters to be resolved and, as my SBOTOP colleague Keith said, only last week, there is a dramatic finish ahead for teams in both halves of the league.
Inter Milan are the 2024 Scudetto winners and deservedly so after a dominant campaign, and they are to be joined in the 2024/25 Champions League by AC Milan, Bologna and Juventus. But with the news that Italy, along with Germany, have won another place in the new 36 team league format, there is still a chance for Atalanta, Roma and Lazio to join the European elite.
Meanwhile the bottom of the league table is very congested with six teams trying to avoid two relegation places, Salernitana having already dropped through the trapdoor.
So let’s take a look at two Matchday 37 clashes from each mini-competition which are bound to hit the Serie A 2024 news this weekend.
Inter Milan vs Lazio
The clash of the round pitches together the champions and seventh placed Lazio, a team on the charge, with a run of five wins in the last six games. Following the resignation of Maurizio Sarri in March, Igor Tudor took control as head coach and the team has responded brilliantly. They will not reach the heights of last season’s second place, but to be in the Champions League race with two games to play is a good recovery.
Tudor’s team has run a combined 115,000 kms this season, the highest in the league, and it’s that energy and fitness which has lifted Lazio to within reach of fifth placed Atalanta.
But Lazio will need speed and plenty of skill to beat the buoyant champions who come into this game on the back of a 5-0 win over Frosinone as Capocannoniere leader Lautaro Martinez scored his 24th goal of the campaign. Lazio skipper Ciro Immobile has had a modest campaign by his standards but he is the man for the big occasion…and that occasion is here.
Roma vs Genoa
Sixth place Roma host 11th place Genoa and I Giallorossi need a quick bounce back from their 2-1 loss away to Atalanta last week, a result which gave La Dea a three point advantage over Roma. Paulo Dybala has been in superb form this season, scoring 13 goals and making nine assists but the Argentine World Cup winner missed the game against Atalanta with a lingering thigh niggle. Roma hope to have him back and firing, alongside Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku who is working his way back into some form.
Genoa have little to play for but they are in good shape, taking seven points from their last three games which included a 3-3 draw with AC Milan, and striker Albert Gudmundsson is a real danger, with 14 goals to his name this season.
Both Lazio and Roma need Atalanta to slip up and La Dea still have three league games to play, as well as a Coppa Italia final against Juventus this week.
Sassuolo vs Cagliari
Five points separate 19th place Sassuolo from Hellas Verona in 14th and I Neroverdi welcome 16th place Cagliari knowing that a win could take them level with Frosinone in 17th.
It’s that tight!
The tension at the Citta del Tricolore will be unbearable as both teams battle for safety while hoping that results elsewhere go their way. The last time Sassuolo were at home they beat Inter Milan 1-0 but since then they lost 2-1 away to Genoa after leading 1-0 at half time.
While Cagliari have been picking up points at home they taken a couple of slappings on the road recently, 3-0 to Genoa and 5-1 away to AC Milan last week. Home advantage could save Sassuolo in this one and keep their season alive.
Udinese vs Empoli
The latest Serie A 2024 betting odds reckon 18th placed Empoli have a tough task to avoid relegation and they have a huge six pointer, away to 15th place Udinese with just a single point separating the two sides. A win will take Empoli out of the bottom three but then they host AS Roma in the final match of the campaign. Udinese know a win will guarantee their place at the top table, but they have another great chance next week when they visit 17th place Frosinone.
Empoli have lost their last two away games, against Atalanta and Lazio and they will target this one as their best chance, but Udinese are unbeaten in three and come into the game on the back of a 2-0 victory over Lecce.
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