Top Match Round-up: Roma-Napoli Outcome Could Hand Juve the Title
The headlines in gameweek 35 are likely to surround what could officially become a fifth consecutive Scudetto for Juventus, with that much reliant on the biggest game of the weekend on Monday night.
Frosinone vs Palermo - Sunday, 11:30 KO
While the two matches involving the league’s top three sides will steal the limelight in Serie A, Sunday’s early kick-off between Frosinone and Palermo could prove make or break for both sides. The two are separated by just one point in the relegation zone ahead of this weekend’s clash, and if either were to lose this one their chances of survival would appear remote.
Palermo have famously had more managers than wins in the league this season, such has been their farcical campaign, while Frosinone are actually in a better position than many expected before the campaign, still in with a realistic shot at survival at this stage. The latter’s only defeats in seven at home have come at the hands of Inter and Juventus, so the hosts look to have the upper hand.
Fiorentina vs Juventus - Sunday, 19:45 KO
Sunday’s late kick-off could be a championship clinching one for Juventus. The Old Lady are in utterly remarkable form, winning 23 of their last 24 league matches and drawing the other, preparing to face a Fiorentina side that have fallen off a cliff since the turn of the year. Off field issues again seem to have hampered what was shaping to be a sensational season under Paulo Sousa, whose future at the club looks far from certain.
The Viola have won just one of their last 8 league matches, though they have still suffered just two defeats at the Artemio Franchi all season. While there have been goals at both ends in the last two meetings between the sides, with Fiorentina taking the lead in both, Juventus come into this encounter as massive favourites to take a huge leap to the title.
Roma vs Napoli - Monday, 14:00 KO
With most in Italy accepting that the title race is already over, it will be made official if Napoli fail to win at Roma on Monday afternoon. The Partenopei posed such a threat to Juventus’ dominance all season but defeats to Udinese and Inter over the past month have left them with a near impossible task. Roma, meanwhile, had been gaining pace at an alarming rate before drawing three of five, but know that a win in this match would close the gap to their opponents’ second place spot to just two points.
The Giallorossi’s last four points have been earned by veteran Francesco Totti, whose relationship with the returning Luciano Spaletti has been under severe scrutiny. The Roma icon remains unlikely to secure what would be only his third league start of the season as his career at the club winds to a somewhat disappointing end. Meanwhile, the visitors will be able to welcome back Gonzalo Higuain from suspension at the opposite end, with the Argentine still hoping to end the campaign as the top scorer in Europe’s top 5 leagues (currently on 30 goals).
