Having already “lose” several matches in the past few weeks due to bad weather, Lega Serie A commissioner decided to make a change for some matches for this upcoming week in order to avoid another forced postponing.

The rescheduled games are, As Roma v Inter Milan, Cesena v Catania and Ac Milan v Napoli, who will now be played in the afternoon instead of their previous evening schedule, hoping that the cold weather won’t be troubling yet at an early hour.

Two matches, Roma v Inter and Cesena v Catania will still be played on Saturday, while Milan v Napoli also isn’t changing any dates despite previous request from the Rossoneri vice president, Adriano Galliani, asking to change the game into different dates. This decision seems to be welcomed well by the clubs as no objections been filed following the fixtures changes, although it remains to be seen whether changing hours would be an effective decisions for those teams.

The weather have been a problematic situation in Serie A for the last few seasons, mainly because the quality of many stadiums in the league that hasn’t been updated, giving difficulties for both players and also supporters. Moreover, there have also been some ideas of changing the schedule especially in winter time by expanding the holiday, so when the fixtures starts, the cold weather won’t be much of an issue anymore.

However, improving stadiums or expanding the holiday would also bring problems, as for the first idea, it would take sometime before teams managed to get their home base updated with the latest technology. Meanwhile, giving extra time off for players, eventually will make the competition gets longer, something that probably isn’t something profitable for television, which is the main financial support for Serie A teams.

photo credit: mitsurinho

AC Milan midfielder Alexander Merkel will be out of action for at least two months with a knee injury, the club have confirmed.

Merkel was hurt in training last week and tests done on the 19-year-old revealed ligament damage on his right knee.

A statement from AC Milan read:

“If there are no complications, Merkel will be available to play in eight weeks.”

Merkel’s injury a setback for Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri. The Germany Under-20 player was brought back from Genoa earlier this month due to the Rossoneri’s injury problems.

Milan are already without midfielders Mathieu Flamini, Gennaro Gattuso and Alberto Aquilani due to injury and it will be interesting to see if Milan go into the transfer market as they try and chase down Juventus in the league.

Milan are also in the last sixteen of the Champions League and the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, and a season that promised so much a month ago is threatening to end up in disappointment due to injuries.

Not many surprises arrives on week 20 in Serie A beside Inter Milan’s seven winning streak end in the hands of Lecce after Guillermo Giacomazzi netted the only goal that clinched the victory.

The Nerazzurri did actually put the ball in the net twice in the second half but all of those goals were correctly disallowed by the referee because of offside.

Claudio Ranieri didn’t really commented much about the disallowed goals as he was more concerned with his team’s performance against Lecce, something that should’ve been seen earlier since Inter last couple of games were pretty poor despite getting the three point. The defeat brought the Nerazzurri back to fifth place as Lazio dethroned Ranieri’s team previous fourth spot, making things much more interesting in the coming weeks.

For the moment the Scudetto race leaves Juventus and Ac Milan getting toe to toe as the one point margin stands until this upcoming midweek where the league starts again. This weekend, the Turin giant successfully defeated Udinese 2-1 with goals from Alessandro Matri, while Milan destroyed their visitor, Cagliari 3-0 at San Siro, thanks to the contribution of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Antonio Nocerino and also Massimo Ambrosini.

Week 20 also seen Lazio and Genoa being successful as the Biancocelesti stormed Chievo 3-0 with goals coming from Hernanes and also Miroslav Klose’s double in the final minutes of the match. Meanwhile, the Marassi outfit managed to stun Napoli, beating Walter Mazzarri’s team 3-2 with Rodrigo Palacio’s brace and Alberto Gilardino’s strike. The Partenopei did made things interesting though after Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi scoring within just two minutes, giving the last 10 minutes a difficult time for Genoa.

Complete Serie A result for Week 20:
Catani a v Parma 1-1; Juventus v Udinese 2-1; Fiorentina v Siena 2-1; Cesena v Atalanta 0-1; Chievo v Lazio 0-3; Genoa v Napoli 3-2; Lecce v Inter 1-0; Palermo v Novara 2-0; Roma v Bologna 1-1; Ac Milan v Cagliari 3-0

photo credit: .a_dit.

Juventus managed to keep their place in the half way of the Serie A season after picking up a solid 2-0 victory over Atalanta with goals from Stephan Lichtsteiner and Emanuele Giaccherini.

This result puts the Turin giant one point above Ac Milan in the standing and maintain their excellent form in the halfway of the new season as the are still unbeaten so far, despite not leading by much points with the teams below them.

Meanwhile, Milan also kept their runners up place after bouncing back from the Derby defeat by beating Novara 3-0 with Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s brace and also Robinho’s tap in from Stephan El Shaarawy’s low shot. An important result for the Rossoneri as not only they keeps up their pace with league leader, Juventus, but also maintaining their points gap with third place, Udinese, who also won on the weekend.

Playing at Friuli, Udinese edged passed Catania with goals from Pablo Armero and also Antonio Di Natale, while their visitor only managed to pull a goal back from Lodi’s late minute penalty kick. Despite winning, Francesco Guidolin’s team must not let their guard down as Inter Milan are starting to cause danger after Claudio Ranieri’s team successfully dethroned Lazio in fourth place.

Inter’s success in leapfrogging the capital team arrived after they beaten Lazio last Sunday in a very hard fought match, which once again forced the Nerazzurri picking up a rather “lucky” win as just like in the Derby, they were forced to defend for the most part of the match. Despite going down first through Tomasso Rochi’s goal, Diego Milito and Giampaolo Pazzini managed to overturn the scoreline with a little bit help from the Biancocelesti’s defends’ poor defending.

Complete Result of Serie A week 19:

Atalanta v Juventus 0-2; Roma v Cesena 5-1; Bologna v Parma 0-0; Novara v Milan 0-3; Cagliari v Fiorentina 0-0; Lecce v Chievo 2-2; Palermo v Genoa 5-3; Siena v Napoli 1-1; Udinese v Catania 2-1; Inter v Lazio 2-1

photo credit: _bianconero

Big blow for struggling AC Milan as Alexandre Pato will be out for up to four weeks with a left thigh muscle injury.

Pato picked up the injury in Wednesday night’s Coppa Italia win over Novara, in which he scored the extra-time winner to earn a 2-1 win.

A statement on Milan’s official website read:

“Damage to the biceps femoris muscle of the left thing has been diagnosed. It’s not serious damaged, but, unless there are complications, it will require 3-4 weeks rest.”

Three to four weeks means that Pato is unlikely to play in the 1st leg of the Last 16 clash in the Champions League with Arsenal at the San Siro on February 15.

In addition he wil miss five Serie A games against Cagliari, Lazio, Napoli and Udinese as well as Lazio in the Coppa Italia next week

Milan have a massive game against Juventus on 26th February and that might be Pato’s first game back.

Milan were short of forwards before Pato’s injury and I wonder is his injury will prompt the Rossoneri to restart those Carlos Tevez transfer talks.

Another changes happened in the Serie A table as Juventus moved up in the standing despite only picking up a point against Cagliari since their arch rival, Ac Milan, surprisingly beaten by Inter Milan at the Derby.

Meanwhile, Udinese held their ground after disappointingly beaten by Genoa, forcing them to stick at third place and must start worrying the resurgence of Inter and also Lazio, who are also winning this weekend.

Playing in front of their home crowd in Turin, Juventus looked to be on their way for another comfortably victory when Mirko Vucinic puts them ahead after only six minutes with an easy tap-in. However, things changed early in he second half as Andrea Cossu got the equalizing goal after capitalizing on the mistake made by Leonardo Bonucci, who gave the ball away to Cossu instead of clearing it properly.

Ac Milan suffered another disappointment in one of their big match clash this season, after Inter stole the match with a cheeky goal from Diego Milito, who once again pounced on a defensive error made by Ignazio Abate. The Italian international who has made the same error couple seasons ago, sloppily missed a clearance and let Milito runs into a bag of space before sliding his shot coolly passed Christian Abbiati in the second half.

The injury to Alberto Aquilani and also having Clarence Seedorf unfit pretty much caused Milan’s midfield creativity a lot as they were playing with too many box to box players, without having any quality passer on the pitch. The lack of that creative act made things easier for Inter, who defended very tight as they were simply eying to hit Milan only from counter attack, which worked out very well indeed.

Inter’s victory obviously boosted their morale as they go undefeated for six games now and looking lively to get their hand back into the Scudetto race, while for Milan, although it doesn’t cost them much, but they must improve their confidence again aside from getting their injured players back. A disappointing defeat also suffered by another top team, Udinese, who were gunned down by Genoa, despite taking the lead early through Damiano Ferronetti.

However, Genoa crawled back in the second half and bagged three goals from Granqvist, Jankovic and Palacio before Antonio Di Natale pulled a goal back and made the score line 3-2 for the home team. The result this weekend only changed Juventus’ position, who are back in the lead, while other post in the top five remain unchanged, as Inter are really looking to fly high again.

Serie A Week 18 Result (Until Sunday)

Catania v Roma (postponed due to heavy rain); Cesena v Novara 3-1; Chievo v Palermo 1-0; Fiorentina v Lecce 0-1; Genoa v Udinese 3-2; Juventus v Cagliari 1-1; Lazio v Atalanta 2-0; Parma v Siena 3-1; Milan v Inter 0-1; Napoli v Bologna (to be played on Monday)

photo credit: _bianconero

With all eyes focused on this weekend’s massive Milan derby, there is also a very interesting battle going on behind the scenes between the two sides.

Common thought was that Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez was heading to AC Milan, and Tevez’s agent has even went as far as to say that personnel terms between Tevez and Milan have been agreed too.

The problem is that Milan and Manchester City are at loggerheads over the Tevez transfer and reports are coming out that Milan have angered City officials over their behaviour during negotiations.

This is not the first time that City and Milan have had trouble pulling off a deal. A couple of seasons ago City thought that they had a deal for Kaka, before it fell apart at the 11th hour. Then, former City President Gary Cook famously said that Milan had “bottled it”.

So with Milan wanting a loan deal and City wanting a transfer, Inter have quietly been working in the background trying to put together a deal.

Inter chief Marco Branca was in London last week for talks over a deal with City and Corriere dello Sport says an agreement is close. City are seeking €30 million, while Branca insists they won’t go higher than €27 million.

Those on City’s side say they’re prepared to compromise and will even help Inter by agreeing to spread the payment over a long-term period.

If they can strike terms with City, Inter chiefs are convinced they can go to Tevez and his adviser Kia Joorabchian and persuade them to break their agreement with Milan.

The odds are still in Milan’s favor, but the longer that Milan and City take to make a deal, the better the chances that Inter can sneak in and steal Tevez from under the nose of their city rivals!!

The top three teams in Serie A, Ac Milan, Juventus and Udinese continue their excellent form in the new year as those three picked up victory against their opponents, keeping things tight at the top of Serie A table.

Just below the top three, the standings didn’t change a lot as well but Lazio’s fourth spot place in under huge pressure as Inter Milan, Napoli and Roma gaining points after picking another victories this weekend.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kevin Prince Boateng were the actors who gave Milan their two goals win in Bergamo, a very difficult place to pick up three points but the Rossoneri did their job pretty well especially their new center back duo, Philippe Mexes-Thiago Silva, who kept on showing great stuffs. However, Massimiliano Allegri’s side still can’t take their breath as Juventus also got all three points against Lecce as Alessandro Matri scored the only goal in the match, which once again saw Fabio Quagliarella, went off for another injury problem.

At Friuli, Udinese continue their excellent home record this season by thumping 10 men Cesena 4-1, with the double from Antonio Di Natale and goals from Kwando Asamoah and Dusan Basta. Inter also achieved a pretty similar outcome on their home match against Parma as Diego Milito bagged a brace, while Giampaolo Pazzini, Thiago Motta and Davide Faraoni all donated a goal which gave the Nerazzurri a 5-0 victory.

Inter’s triumph obviously set the upcoming Milan Derby alive as they’re set to play the Scudetto holder in their best form of the season, raising the possibility for a wonderful spectacle next weekend. Meanwhile, Lazio must start to have a bit concern about their performances as Edy Reja team were demolished 4-0 in the weekend by Siena, who got their three points with Mattia Destro’s double and Calaio’s penalty brace.

Napoli once again proved that their recent dip of form in the league is mainly cause by their Champions League commitment as this weekend Walter Mazzarri’s side, who doesn’t have any European schedule, successfully thumped Palermo 3-1. Goals from Goran Pandev, Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik, only got one reply from Fabrizio Miccolli, allowing the Partenopei to pick up their first win at Renzo Barbera in after three seasons.

As Roma also continue their recent good form after getting another victory in the weekend by beating Chievo 2-0 with goals from their talismanic captain, Francesco Totti. The former Italian international superstar scored both goals from the spot kick, as the veteran seems eager to repay his failure in scoring from penalty in Roma’s match against Juventus, not long ago.

Complete Serie A Week 17 Result:

Siena v Lazio 4-0; Inter v Parma 5-0; Atalanta v Ac Milan 0-2; Lecce v Juventus 0-1; Bologna v Catania 2-0; Cagliari v Genoa 3-0; Novara v Fiorentina 0-3; As Roma v Chievo 2-0; Udinese v Cesena 4-1; Palermo v Napoli 1-3

photo credit: Yme Bosma

Atalanta‘s weekend match-up against Ac Milan is also being noted by the press as a duel between two current Serie A top forwards, German Denis against Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as both are the top two scorers in the league at the moment.

Trying to relieve the personal pressure on him, Denis simply stated that he wont try to embark in a personal battle with Ibrahimovic and will only play to help his team gets all three points.

Despite not pressuring himself with a goal against Milan, Denis obviously won’t mind if he does manage to score against the Scudetto holder, especially since he already had the experience. The ex-Napoli man remind everyone how he successfully bagged a goal against the Rossoneri last season, where he helped Udinese snatching a 4-4 draw in San Siro.

The game is Atalanta versus Milan and not Denis versus Ibrahimovic. It will be great if I do manage to score on Sunday, but the important thing is that Atalanta actually win the match. I know how to score against Milan as I have already done that, Last year I put Udinese 4-3 up [in the 89th minute] at San Siro, but then Ibrahimovic invented that goal [in minute 93]” Denis explained.

Arriving pretty late in the summer transfer market from Udinese, Denis made a pretty remarkable impact with Atalanta as he surprisingly managed to lead the top scorer list in Serie A with 12 goals, one above Ibrahimovic. The Argentinian striker’s goals obviously helped his team’s success in reaching the 11th place, a pretty good spot considering they are suffering points deduction from the start of the competition.

Should the Bergamo outfit didn’t get penalized, their points are actually enough to put them competing in the top five place as they will be level on points with current fifth place holder, Inter Milan. Atalanta’s home record is also pretty good this season, this would definitely gives them confidence ahead of the match against Milan this weekend.

photo credit: marco Canoniero

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has made it clear that the Rossoneri do not fear Juventus as Serie A is set to resume next weekend after a brief winter break.

Milan and Juve currently sit joint first in the league table with 34 points from 16 games, and Allegri has insisted that the Turin side’s unbeaten run doesn’t intimidate Milan.

“Juventus do not scare us,” Allegri was quoted as saying by Tuttosport. “They are a great team and we respect them. However, at the moment, Milan have all the resources available that are needed to win the Scudetto once more.”

Milan’s first game after the winter break is an away clash against Atalanta on January 8, while Juve travel to Lecce that same day.