Serie A Round 17: Survival battles clash with title ambitions

Serie A Round 17 begins tomorrow, Saturday, December 27, with Parma-Fiorentina, but it will be a weekend where relegation candidates will cross paths with title contenders.

Serie A will know no break during the Christmas festive period as the Round 17 will be played between Saturday, December 27 and Monday 29.

Table leaders Inter have a big game coming up as they’ll visit Raffaele Palladino’s Atalanta in Bergamo on Sunday evening.

Technically, it’s the only big game of the weekend, which, however, doesn’t mean the Nerazzurri opponents will necessarily have an easy pathway.

On Saturday evening, Juventus will visit relegation candidates Pisa, currently sitting in 19th and with coach Alberto Gilardino on the brink.

On the following day, Milan will face Verona at San Siro (12:30 CET), while Napoli will visit Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese.

The Grigiorossi have had a fantastic start to the season, grabbing 21 points in 11 games and putting nine points between them and the relegation zone. This means they can play with freedom and on a counter-attack against the Partenopei, who will return to the pitch after winning the Supercoppa in Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

The first weekend game, Parma-Fiorentina, is a big one in the race for survival, with the Viola still sitting 20th and the Ducali being just two points above the drop zone.

Lecce will be looking to earn points at home against Como, while Cagliari will visit Torino. Udinese and Lazio still hope to get a European placement, while Bologna and Sassuolo will meet in a local derby at the Stadio Dall’Ara.

Lastly, Daniele De Rossi will return to the Olimpico for the last game of the weekend against his beloved Roma.