My favorite derby is coming up this weekend, Il Derby Della Madonnina between Inter Milan and AC Milan looks to be very exciting, with a depleted Inter side facing the league-leaders AC Milan. But this isn’t the only, “big match” taking place this weekend, we’ve also got an extremely interesting game between Juventus and Roma on Saturday, along with 2nd placed Lazio facing 3rd placed Napoli.

But let’s focus on the Milan derby first, two sides with their roles seemingly reversed; last season Inter was winning plenty of games in the Serie A, while AC Milan was suffering. But this season we see the rossoneri going into the game with five wins in their last six games, while Inter Milan has only won two games in their last seven. This is an extremely crucial game for both sides, with Inter having the chance to draw level on points with AC Milan if they win, or with AC Milan possibly getting a six point lead if they defeat the current champions.

Regarding how the squads are looking with injuries, it seems like Benitez will have Julio Cesar, Stankovic, Sneijder, and Milito available for the derby, with Cambiasso still unsure whether he can manage an early return to fitness. AC Milan on the other hand have just been dealt a big injury blow, and that’s the loss of their veteran forward, Filippo Inzaghi. Inzaghi tore a cruciate knee ligament, and will be out for about six months. But there’s more bad news, AC Milan will also have to do without Alexandre Pato who suffered a thigh problem, and will be unable to play.

So how will this key derby go? My prediction is a narrow and tight 2-1 win for Inter Milan, with Diego Milito scoring both goals. I think that the Argentine has found his scoring boots in the midweek against Lecce, and Benitez will be able to motivate his team for this important game. Regarding AC Milan, I think that Ibrahimovic will go for individual glory against his old team, maybe even score a goal, but not win the game. But what are your predictions? Make sure to share them below by commenting!

Juventus and Roma will also be battling it out over the weekend, and this seems like one of the most open matches of the season. I can see this going either way, even though Juventus is at home, but if there’s one thing I’m fairly certain of, it’s that the match will be exciting. While I think that Roma are a better side then Juventus, we saw what Delneri’s side did to AC Milan a couple of weeks ago.

My prediction for this match is an exciting 3-1 win for Juventus. Delneri always sets his sides up very well, and he’ll surely notice any possible tactical faults that Roma has to take advantage of. The two sides are just a point away from each other in the table right now (Juventus 5th and Roma 6th), so this match can really propel a side to challenge for the title. What are your thoughts on how this match will go? Be sure to comment your predictions below!

Former table leaders Lazio are taking on Napoli this weekend in Sunday’s early kickoff. Yet another very tight match, with Lazio in 2nd place, and Napoli just a point behind in 3rd place. But Lazio have lost their last two games, while Napoli have won their last three. Lazio do have the advantage of playing at home, but I still think that they’ll suffer with Napoli’s formidable forwards Lavezzi, and Cavani who combined have scored 12 goals so far this season.

My prediction for this match, a 2-0 win for Napoli. It’s a little bit of a shock result I guess, but I think that Napoli can pull it off. Make sure that you share your thoughts on how this match will finish below! And if you want to talk about any other matches being played this weekend, make sure to comment!

In 2005-2006, Napoli was looking to escape dire finances and Serie C1.  In 2010-2011, Napoli can credibly claim that it is competing for a Champions League berth.  The Partenopei led by their president Aurelio De Laurentiis have been slowly built up and well managed to the point where last season they qualified for their their second Europa League in three seasons.  Their big off-season signing of Edinson Cavani gives the team’s supporters hope that they can finish in the top four this year, and their expectations are not outrageous.

Management: De Laurentiis has spent and will continue to spend money to get the right players for his club.  His hiring of former Sampdoria manager Walter Mazzarri last season to replace Roberto Donadoni was a good one, as he resurrected the listless club and guided them to sixth place in the standings.  He has said the right things this offseason, including making it his goal for the club to continue improving in Italy and in Europe.

The Transfer Market: Napoli’s offseason can be judged a success for two reasons – they signed Edinson Cavani and they did not lose a key contributor to their rivals.  Cavani made his name in this year’s World Cup scoring for Uruguay against Germany, but maybe more importantly he can no longer help the team ahead of Napoli in the standings, Palermo.  He has scored 34 goals since 2007 and is only 23 years old, so he could blossom further in Marrazzi’s style.

Not leaving on transfer this year were Italian national Fabio Quagliarella or Marek Hamsik.  Luca Cigarini was sent to Sevilla and Erwin Hoffer was sent to Bundesliga, but both players can be easily replaced.  And to good news is that De Laurentiis has said he is not done on the transfer market and he will wait until after Napoli’s Europa League match against Elfsborg to sign another player, depending on the outcome.

Key Players and the Formation: With the depth in midfield, expect Napoli to field a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 formation this season.  This will allow some attacking midfielders to move up and support a shallow core of strikers (although they are deep on talent).

Defensively Napoli is an experienced group.  Morgan De Sanctis is the starter currently for both Azzurri teams and while not spectacular, the keeper’s spot is solid.  In front of De Sanctis will certainly be Paolo Cannavaro but next to him is a bit in flux.  Gianluca Grava and Salvatore Aronica are both on the wrong side of thirty, and Hugo Campagnaro and Fabiano Santacroce will likely push to start on defense.  Regardless, don’t be surprised if Napoli makes a move to strengthen its defense in the next week.

The star of the midfield is Hamsik.  Although he failed to score against Italy in the World Cup, Hamsik captained his team out of group stage and, at 23, is set to have a huge year.  He will likely flow between a traditional midfield spot and further up, acting at times as a forward, depending on who else is starting with him in midfield.  If Napoli does goes with four midfielders, there will be a log jam for all four spots.  Talented players like Juan Carlos Zuniga may come off the bench because there is not a space for him to play.

Pairing with Cavani will be a combination of Lavezzi and/or Quagiarella.  Quagliarella needs to carry over his strong World Cup performance into the club season and continue to be strong in the box to add a different scoring dimension.  If any of these three struggle, Hamsik could be moved forward in the formation to assist in scoring or Napoli could scour the market for a new body.

Outlook: This team is good, and should do well in the Europa League if it continues to get draws like Elfsborg.  Whether it has the depth to compete in the Europa League and Serie A is another question, but the club has enough combinations of players to make it work.  Does this team have enough talent to make a run at the top four?  Yes if the big name strikers live up to their billing, the backline doesn’t show its age, and the team’s World Cup players play as well as they did in South Africa.  Will all these things happen?  On that I am slightly more pessimistic.

New coach Walter Mazzarri (left), and ex coach Roberto Donadoni (right)

After Napoli’s disappointing start to the season, president Aurelio De Laurentis has decided to “dismiss” Roberto Donadoni as head coach, and has now hired Walter Mazzarri.

Napoli were looking forward to a successful season, with new signings such as Quagliarella, De Sanctis, and Cigarini. Napoli looked ready to shine with a team of young talent including Lavezzi, Santacroce, and Hamsik. Since the beginning of the Serie A Napoli has won two, drawn one, and lost four, leaving them tied for 14th place with Cagliari. Not only this, they also have not had a positive result away from home all season, every away game was a loss, showing the team’s dependance on the home ground.

After the departure of Napoli’s Sporting Director Pierpaolo Marino, Donadoni’s future looked in doubt, De Laurentis just needed to find the right replacement, and Mazzarri might be the right choice. Having already coached Reggina and Sampdoria, the Italian coach is probably best known for taking Sampdoria into the top tier of Italian football, and changing Antonio Cassano back into one of the world’s greatest players.

Back when Edoardo Reja was the coach at Napoli, they played with a successful and revolutionizing 3-5-2, bringing Napoli from Serie C1 up to Serie A. And during his five years at Napoli, Edoardo Reja was able to bring what was once a deteriorating squad into Europe. After Reja was kicked out and Donadoni was brought in, results did not improve. Donadoni tried to change playing style to a 4-3-3, then a 4-4-2, and after tried to go back to Reja’s 3-5-2, all he achieved was confusion between the players. Mazzarri at Sampdoria was able to play a tidy 3-5-2, maybe bringing back the original system in a clean and simple way, could be what this team needs to start popping in the goals.

So could Mazzarri change this team for the better? The talent is there, and the players are young and ready to learn, all they need is some guidance, guidance that Mazzarri could provide just like he did for Cassano. And if he were able to get this team to start playing beautiful football soon, the birth of some new stars could be imminent. Players like Lavezzi, the Argentinean often compared to Maradona and Messi, Hamsik, the Slovakian midfielder with a talent for running the midfield and scoring goals, and Santacroce, the Italian defender who seals up the back line, could all lead Napoli into a new era. Hopefully Mazzarri can revitalize this team, and bring back a powerful side in Italian football.

Do you think Mazzarri can lead Napoli succesfully? Comment below!