By Anna Italia
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Italian Soccer Serie A

Hello my friends. How are you doing?  Welcome and let’s roll the ball for the 2019-2020 Serie A Week 1 Preview for the First Round on  Saturday 24,  Sunday 25, and Monday 26 August 2019.

The challenge is not only for Juventus to defend their Serie A Scudetto as reigning Italian champions, but for the other 19 teams to win the Scudetto this season.   We might argue that the two main contenders to destroy “giant Juventus” are Napoli and AS Roma.  Ironically,  Napoli ex coach Maurizio Sarri is now coaching Juventus!!!!  You bet, there is no much love for Sarri in Naples after his decision to join Juventus.

Surely, there is too much expectation with some of the new players in the Serie A.  For example,French player Franck Ribery, 36 years old, joining Fiorentina; Welsh player Aaron James Ramsey, 28 years old, with Juventus; and Mexican player Hirving Lozano, 24 years old, with Napoli.  Who will be the “sensation this season?”  Let’s not forget iconic Cristiano Ronaldo who remains the main hope for Juventus to lead Juventus to win the coveted UEFA Champions League.

Question is whether the “new generation” will rule in the Serie A or the “old generation.”  Let’s remember that the top scorer of the Serie A last season was Sampdoria forward Fabio Quagliarella, 36  years old.   Surely, many players to follow ….

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Italian Serie A Tickets for next 10 games

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Saturday 24 August 2019

PARMA – JUVENTUS
Ennio Tardini Stadium
Referee: MARESCA
Assistants: VALERIANI – DE MEO
Fourth Official: PICCININI
VAR: MAZZOLENI
AVAR: DI VUOLO
18:00

It’s the Serie A kickoff match!  On paper, the favorite to win is Juventus.  However, we might not rule out Parma to upset current reigning Italian champions.  Bad news is that Juventus Coach Maurizio Sarri  will not be present because of pneumonia.  Juventus assistant coach  Giovanni Martusciello will take Sarri’s place.

Parma is motivated after starting their 2019-20 campaign with a 3-1 win over Venezia in the Coppa Italia Third Round last weekend. Parma ended in the 14th position last season while Juventus in the 1st position.

New signing Aaron Ramsey has not been called up for this match because he continues to recover from injury. Challenge will be for Cristiano Ronaldo to start this season with goals to delight the fans and the Argentinean duo Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain, Manduzikic, and Douglas Costa ….. all   ready to shine. Cristiano Ronaldo scored 28 goals in 43 appearances during his first season and he will want to improve that. Returning Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon also ready to show he is the best goalkeeper.

Will Parma upset Juventus? Oh boy!!!!!  Will Juventus set the tone for their dominion in the Serie A again?  Juventus winning eight consecutive Scudetto…. are we counting nine?

I am just ready to rumble!!!! Let’s roll the ball.

Stats.  Here are the last 3 games of PARMA:  2 wins and 1 lost

DAte	TO	Match				FT	ROund
17/08/19	CI	Parma – Venezia				3:1	R3
10/08/19	CFG	Parma – Sampdoria				2:1
03/08/19	CFG	Burnley – Parma				2:0

Stats.  Here are the last 3 games of JUVENTUS:  2 wins, 1 lost

DAte	TO	Match				FT	ROund
17/08/19	CFG	US Triestina Ca… – Juventus				0:1
10/08/19	ICC	Atletico – Juventus				2:1	R
24/07/19	ICC	Juventus – Inter				5:4 (AP)	R

• Here are PARMA 24 official called up players by Coach Roberto D’Aversa for the Serie A Week 1 game Parma vs Juventus on Saturday 24 August 2019 at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma, Italy at 18:00.

Goalkeepers: Alastra, Colombi, Sepe;

Defenders: B. Alves, Dermaku, Gagliolo, Iacoponi, Laurini, Ricci;

Midfielders: Barillà, Brugman, Grassi, Hernani Jr, Kucka, Kulusevski, Machin, Scozzarella;

Forwards: Ceravolo, Cornelius, Gervinho, Karamoh, Inglese, Siligardi, Sprocati.

• Here are JUVENTUS 23 official called up players by Coach Maurizio Sarri for the game against Parma:

Goalkeepers: Szczesny, Pinsoglio, Buffon.

Defenders: De Sciglio, Chiellini, De Ligt, Alex Sandro, Danilo, Bonucci, Demiral.

Midfielders: Pjanic, Khedira, Matuidi, Cuadrado, Emre Can, Rabiot, Bentancur, Bernardeschi.

Forwards: Ronaldo, Dybala, Douglas Costa, Mandzukic, Higuain.

• Parma vs Juventus Probable Lineups

PARMA (4-3-3): Sepe; Laurini, Iacoponi, Bruno Alves, Gagliolo; Brugman, Hernani, Barillà; Kulusevski, Inglese, Gervinho. 

JUVENTUS (4-3-3): Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, Chiellini, Alex Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic, Rabiot; Bernardeschi, Dybala, Cristiano Ronaldo

Parma will host Juventus Italy’s reigning champions…..

Photo:  facebook.com/pg/parmacalcio1913

FIORENTINA – NAPOLI
Artemio Franchi Stadium
Referee: MASSA
Assistants: TEGONI – ALASSIO
Fourth Official: DOVERI
VAR: VALERI
AVAR: MONDIN
20.45

Fiorentina is eager to start the season and this match against Napoli is a test for both.  Napoli, who ended in the second place, will look to start the season with a victory to set the race for the Scudetto.  Fiorentina is highly motivated and look to see their new signing French Franck Ribery to shine with the Viola as new player.

Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti must recover the winning road.  Napoli lost the last 2 Summer games against Barcelona.  It is time to archive Summer and get serious to start the season with the right foot.

Stats.  Here are the last 3 games of FIORENTINA:  3 wins

DAte	TO	Match	1	X	2	FT	ROund
18/08/19	CI	Fiorentina – SS Monza 1912	1.6	3.9	4.4	3:1	R3
11/08/19	CFG	Fiorentina – Galatasaray				4:1
03/08/19	CFG	Livorno – Fiorentina				0:1

Stats.  Here are the last 3 games of NAPOLI:  1 win, 2 lost

DAte	TO	Match	FT	ROund
10/08/19	CFG	Napoli – Barcelona	0:4
08/08/19	CFG	Barcelona – Napoli	2:1
04/08/19	CFG	Marseille – Napoli	0:1

• Here are FIORENTINA official called up players by Coach Vincenzo Montella for the Serie A Week 1 game Fiorentina vs Napoli on Saturday 24 August 2019 at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy at 20:45.

Goalkeepers: Dragowski, Terracciano.

Defenders: Biraghi, Ceccherini, Lirola, Milenkovic, Pezzella, Ranieri, Terzic, Venuti.

Midfielders: Badelj, Benassi, Castrovilli, Cristoforo, Pulgar, Zurkowski.

Forwards: Boateng, Chiesa, Montiel, Franck Ribery, Simeone, Sottil, Vlahovic.

• Here are NAPOLI official called up players by Coach Carlo Ancelotti for the game against Fiorentina:

Goalkeepers: Meret, Ospina, Karnezis;

Defenders: Chiriches, Di Lorenzo, Ghoulam, Hysaj, Koulibaly, Luperto, Maksimovic, Malcuit, Manolas, Mario Rui;

Midfielders: Allan, Elmas, Fabian Ruiz, Gaetano, Verdi, Zielinski;

Forwards: Callejon, Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, Younes

• Fiorentina vs Napoli Probable Lineups

FIORENTINA (4-3-3): Dragowski; Lirola, Milinkovic, Ger. Pezzella, Terzic; Pulgar, Badelj, Benassi; Chiesa, K. Boateng, Sottil. Coach:  Vincenzo Montella

NAPOLI (4-2-3-1): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Allan, Fabian Ruiz; Callejón, Zielinski, Insigne; Mertens. Coach:   Carlo Ancelotti

Fiorentina Coach Vincenzo Montella ready to stand up against Napoli at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence….

Photo: facebook.com/ACFFiorentina

 

Sunday 25 August 2019

UDINESE – AC MILAN
Friuli Stadium
Referee: PASQUA
Assistants: VIVENZI – RANGHETTI
Fourth Official: MAGGIONI
VAR: GIACOMELLI
AVAR: DEL GIOVANE
18:00

AC Milan with new Coach Marco Giampaolo will travel to Udine with the hope to grab a victory. Udinese will test their strength against this “not powerful Milan.”  It’s just sad to see the once glorious AC Milan struggling.

Surely, AC Milan having more pressure to start the season with a victory than Udinese.  AC Milan still dreaming with their return to the UEFA Champions League.  Imagine, AC Milan have been out of the Champions since the 2013-2014 Season!    AC Milan were banned from the Europa League for one year after breaking financial fair play rules.

The objective for Udinese will be to improve their standing from last season ending in the 12th place.  Motivation is high for Udinese after qualifying for the Coppa Italia Fourth Round.  According to Coach Igor Tudor, it is better to face AC Milan now than later.

Stats.  Here are the last 3 games of UDINESE:  2 wins, 1 lost

DAte	TO	Match				FT	ROund
18/08/19	CI	Udinese – Sudtirol				3:1	R3
02/08/19	CFG	Besiktas – Udinese				0:2
27/07/19	CFG	Dortmund – Udinese				4:1

Stats. Here are the last 3 games of AC MILAN:  1 win, 1 draw, and 1 lost

DAte	TO	Match	FT	ROund
17/08/19	CFG	Cesena – Milan	0:0
10/08/19	CFG	KF Feronikeli – Milan	0:2
03/08/19	ICC	Man Utd – Milan	7:6 (AP)	R

• Here are UDINESE official called up players by coach Igor Tudor for the Serie A Week 1 game Udinese vs AC Milan on Sunday 25 August 2019 at the Friuli Stadium in Udine, Italy at 18:00.

GOALKEEPERS: 1 Musso, 88 Nicolas, 27 Perisan

DEFENDERS: 87 De Maio, 3 Samir, 5 Ekong, 19 Stryger, 50 Becao, 17 Nuytinck, 97 Pezzella, 2 Sierralta, 4 Opoku

MIDFIELDERS: 12 Sema, 72 Barak, 10 De Paul, 6 Fofana, 8 Jajalo, 38 Mandragora, 11 Walace

FORWARDS: 15 Lasagna, 30 Nestorovski, 23 Pussetto, 91 Teodorczyk

• Here are AC MILAN official called up players by Coach Marco Giampaolo for the game against Udinese:

GOALKEEPERS:  Donnarumma A., Donnarumma G., Soncin.

DEFENDERS:  Calabria, Conti, Duarte, Gabbia, Laxalt, Musacchio, Rodríguez, Romagnoli.

MIDFIELDERS: Bennacer, Bonaventura, Çalhanoğlu, Kessié, Krunić, Paquetá.

FORWARDS: Borini, Castillejo, Leão, Piątek, André Silva, Suso.

• Udinese vs AC Milan Probable Lineups

UDINESE (3-4-1-2): Musso; Becao, Troost-Ekong, Samir; Ter Avest, Mandragora, Fofana, Stryger Larsen; De Paul; Pussetto, Lasagna. Coach:  Igor Tudor

AC MILAN (4-3-1-2): G. Donnarumma; Calabria, Musacchio, Romagnoli, R. Rodriguez; Kessié, Bennacer, Paquetá; Suso; Piatek, Castillejo. Coach: Marco Giampaolo

Photo:  facebook.com/UdineseCalcio1896/

CAGLIARI – BRESCIA
Sardegna Arena
Referee: ABBATTISTA
Assistants: PAGANESSI – BRESMES
Fourth Official: ILLUZZI
VAR: PAIRETTO
AVAR: DI IORIO
20.45

• Here are CAGLIARI 25 official called up players by Coach Rolando Maran for the Italian Serie A Week 1 game Cagliari vs Brescia on Sunday 25 August 2019 at the Sardegna Arena in Cagliari, Italy at 20:45.

Goalkeepers: Rafael, Aresti, Ciocci;

Defenders: Pinna, Mattiello, Klavan, Pisacane, Lykogiannis, Ceppitelli, Pellegrini, Walukiewicz, Romagna;

Midfielders: Nainggolan, Cigarini, Birsa, Oliva, Nandez, Ionita, Deiola, Castro;

Forwards: Cerri, Joao Pedro, Han, Ragatzu, Pavoletti;

• Here are BRESCIA 19 official called up players by Coach Eugenio Corini for the game against Cagliari:

Goalkeepers: Alfonso, Joronen

Defenders: Semprini, Sabelli, Gastaldello, Cistana, Chancellor, Mangraviti, Martella, Curcio

Midfielders: Tonali, Bisoli, Dessena, Tremolada, Zmhral

Forwards: Spalek, Aye, Morosini, Alfredo Donnarumma.

• Cagliari vs Brescia Probable Lineups

CAGLIARI (4-3-1-2): Rafael; Pinna, Ceppitelli, Klavan, Lu. Pellegrini; Nandez, Nainggolan, Ionita; Birsa; João Pedro, Pavoletti. Coach:  Rolando Maran

BRESCIA (4-3-1-2): Joronen; Sabelli, Cistana, Chancellor, Martella; Bisoli, Tonali, Dessena; Spalek; Torregrossa, Al. Donnarumma. Coach:  Eugenio Corini

HELLAS VERONA – BOLOGNA
Marc’Antonio Bentegodi Stadium
Referee: GIUA
Assistants: SCHENONE – IMPERIALE
Fourth Official: DI MARTINO
VAR: NASCA
AVAR: GALETTO
20.45

• Hellas Verona vs Bologna Probable Lineups

HELLAS VERONA (3-4-2-1): Silvestri; Kumbulla, Rrahmani, Empereur; Faraoni, Henderson, Miguel Veloso, Lazovic; Zaccagni, Verre; Pazzini. Coach: Ivan Juric

BOLOGNA (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Tomiyasu, Danilo, Denswil, Dijks; Poli, Kingsley; Orsolini, Soriano, Sansone; Palacio. Coach:   Sinisa Mihajlovic

AS ROMA – GENOA
Olimpico di Roma Stadium
Referee: CALVARESE
Assistants: LIBERTI – CECCONI
Fourth Official: ROS
VAR: FABBRI
AVAR: PASSERI
20.45

• AS Roma vs Genoa Probable Lineups

AS ROMA (4-2-3-1): Pau López; Florenzi, Fazio, Mancini, Kolarov; Lo. Pellegrini, Cristante; Under, Zaniolo, Perotti; Dzeko. Coach: Paulo Fonseca

GENOA (3-5-2): I. Radu; Biraschi, Romero, C. Zapata; Ghiglione, Schöne, Radovanovic, Lerager, Criscito; Pinamonti, Kouamé. Coach: Aurelio Andreazzoli

SAMPDORIA – LAZIO
Luigi Ferraris Stadim
Referee: ROCCHI
Assistants: MELI – PERETTI
Fourth Official: SERRA
VAR: BANTI
AVAR: TOLFO
20.45

A thriller!  Sampdoria and Lazio have played eight times on the Serie A Kickoff.  Stats showing Sampdoria with 4 wins, Lazio with 3 wins, and 1 draw.

• Sampdoria vs Lazio Probable Lineups

SAMPDORIA (4-3-3): Audero; Bereszynski, Colley, Murillo, Murru; Barreto, Ekdal, Linetty; Gabbiadini, Quagliarella, Caprari. Coach:  Eusebio Di Francesco

LAZIO (3-4-1-2): Strakosha; Vavro, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Cataldi, Milinkovic-Savic, Lulic; Luis Alberto, Correa; Immobile. Coach: Simone Inzaghi

SPAL – ATALANTA
Stadio Paolo Mazza
Referee: MANGANIELLO
Assistants: ROCCA – PAGLIARDINI
Fourth Official: BARONI
VAR: CHIFFI
AVAR: LO CICERO
20.45

• Here are SPAL official called up players by Coach Leonardo Semplici for the Serie A Week 1 game SPAL vs ATALANTA on Sunday 25 August 2019 at the Paolo Mazza Stadium in Ferrara, Italy at 20:45.

Goalkeepers: Berisha, Letica, Thiam.

Defenders: Cannistrà, Cionek, Farcas, Felipe, Igor, Tomovic, Vicari.

Midfielders: D’Alessandro, Di Francesco, Dickmann, Kurtic, Mawuli, Missiroli, Murgia, Strefezza, Valdifiori, Valoti.

Forwards: Floccari, Jankovic, Moncini, Paloschi, Petagna.

• Here are ATALANTA 19 official called up players by Coach Gian Piero Gasperini for the game against SPAL:

Goalkeepers: Gollini, Ndiaye, Rossi

Defenders: Djimsiti, Gosens, Hateboer, Ibanez, Masiello, Palomino, Skrtel, Toloi

Midfielders: De Roon, Freuler, Malinovskyi, Pasalic

Forwards: Barrow, Gomez, Muriel, Zapata

• SPAL vs Atalanta Probable Lineups

SPAL (3-5-2): Berisha; Cionek, Vicari, Felipe; D’Alessandro, Murgia, Missiroli, Kurtic, Di Francesco; Petagna, Floccari.  Coach: Leonardo Semplici

ATALANTA (3-4-1-2): Gollini; Toloi, Palomino, Masiello; Hateboer, De Roon, Freuler, Gosens; A. Gomez; Muriel, D. Zapata. Coach:  Gian Piero Gasperini

Photo:  twitter.com/spalferrara

TORINO – SASSUOLO
Olimpico di Torino Stadium
Referee: MARIANI
Assistants: SANTORO – BACCINI
Fourth Official: GHERSINI
VAR: ABISSO
AVAR: LONGO
20.45

• Torino vs Sassuolo Probable Lineups

TORINO (3-4-1-2): Sirigu; Izzo, N’Koulou, Bremer; De Silvestri, Rincon, Baselli, Ansaldi; Berenguer; Belotti, Zaza. Coach:  Walter Mazzarri

SASSUOLO (4-3-3): Consigli; Toljan, Marlon, G. Ferrari, Rogerio; H. Traoré, Obiang, Locatelli; Brignola, Caputo, Boga. Coach: Roberto De Zerbi

Monday 26 August 2019

INTER – LECCE
Giuseppe Meazza Stadium
Referee: LA PENNA
Assistants: GIALLATINI – PRENNA
Fourth Official: VOLPI
VAR: AURELIANO
AVAR: FIORITO
20.45

• Inter vs Lecce Probable Lineups

INTER (3-5-2): Handanovic; D’Ambrosio, De Vrij, Skriniar; Candreva, Vecino, Brozovic, Sensi, Asamoah; R. Lukaku, Lautaro Martínez. Coach: Antonio Conte

LECCE (4-3-1-2): Gabriel; Benzar, Lucioni, Rossettini, Calderoni; Petriccione, Tachtsidis, Majer; Mancosu; Lapadula, Falco. Coach:  Fabio Liverani