What Matchday 10 Can Reveal About Serie A’s Scudetto Race

It is one of those weekends where the schedule seems to intentionally squeeze all of the league’s most exciting clashes into the same matchday.

Today, Inter are hosting Roma, while AC Milan will be battling Napoli later at night. And although it is too early to label this as a season-defining fixture, it will certainly give us insights into the different teams’ form and ability to prevail over some of the fiercest title contenders.

During matchday 10 of the 2023/24 Serie A season, Inter will look to regain the top of the table, a spot that has been temporarily taken by Juventus.

Thanks to last night’s stoppage-time winner by Italian wing-back Andrea Cambiaso, the Bianconeri are currently leading the league with 23 points and boast the second-best defense with only six goals conceded.

Considering the lack of involvement in this year’s European competitions, Massimiliano Allegri’s side has the luxury of channeling all physical and mental energies into Serie A, a factor that usually pays off when the schedule thickens in the second half of the season.

Today, Inter are scheduled to host Roma, the match that will see Romelu Lukaku’s return to Stadio San Siro. The spotlight will inevitably be on the Belgium international, who is expected to be booed throughout the entire game by the 70 thousand home fans attending the event in Milan.

Manager Simone Inzaghi’s men have been enjoying formidable form, both in the Italian league and the UEFA
EFA
Champions League, where they are very close to booking an early slot to the knockout stage. Roma, who will do without their manager Jose Mourinho due to his one-game touchline ban, have likewise been on a run, recording a 5-0-0 record across all competitions in the last five matches. The enthusiasm among the Giallorossi fans seems to have been restored following a few poor performances in the campaign’s early stages.

Both clubs will line up in a three-man defensive system, with Inter expected to be in control of possession. Leveraging the work of their solid midfield line, they will try serving as many balls as possible to the attacking duo formed by Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez, the league’s leading scorer with 11 goals in nine matches.

However, the Nerazzurri must watch themselves from bringing too many numbers forward, as Roma have shown to be deadly in counterattack transitions thanks to the pace and athleticism of their offensive players.

Should Roma lose, the gap to Serie A’s first place would widen to 11 points. A win, in turn, would put them back into the mix of teams that dream of chasing the Scudetto, a title that has been missing in Rome since 2001, when the club was captained by Italian soccer legend Francesco Totti.

Later in the day, second-placed AC Milan are traveling south to face Serie A reigning champions Napoli at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

The Rossoneri suffered two heavy defeats in the past week, respectively at the hands of Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, and they have also failed to score in either game. It was Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League 3-0 loss against the Ligue 1 giants that especially brought AC Milan’s weaknesses to the surface.

Perhaps more worryingly was the internal dispute that arose after the match, which was prompted by a controversial remark by team captain Davide Calabria. When interviewed by Sky Sport, he spoke about “psychological and tactical” issues among the AC Milan players, an observation that wasn’t well received by head coach Stefano Pioli.

Tensions between Pioli and Calabria, however, seem to have eased soon after, and the right-back is projected to feature in AC Milan’s starting lineup tonight. On top, Portuguese winger Rafael Leao and USMNT star Christian Pulisic will operate on either side of evergreen center-forward Olivier Giroud.

Napoli seem to have gained back positive momentum following a sluggish start to the season, during which they received criticism for recording an unusually low goal-scoring ratio. The Partenopei fans cannot help but make comparisons to last year’s glorious campaign, when they boasted one of the most lethal attacks in European soccer.

Things have now improved for Napoli and their French head coach Rudi Garcia, who this year has been appointed with the complicated task of filling Luciano Spalletti’s shoes. Domestically, Napoli are sitting fourth in the Serie A table, while at the international level, they have collected six points in three UEFA Champions League group stage fixtures, losing only to Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid.

Due to Victor Osimhen’s absence, Italy international Giacomo Raspadori will lead Napoli’s attack alongside Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Matteo Politano, two shifty wingers that will look to make a difference by exploiting their unique one-on-one dribbling skills.

Although it would be foolish to talk about this as a decisive weekend for the league’s fate, these kinds of games can offer glimpses into which side has what it takes to be a title challenger in the long run.

And while a few rosters might seem deeper and better equipped than others, no one team has so far emerged as the dominant side that can effortlessly run away with the Serie A title like Napoli did last year.

Because multiple Italian clubs share the same goal of putting their hands around the 2023/24 Scudetto, winning these head-to-head records might prove critical should the season go down to the wire.