AS Roma, Lazio, Juventus Hope to Avoid Slips
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
MILAN (December 2, 1999 7:18 p.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Italy's three league leaders will be facing the banana skin test this weekend, with AS Roma, Lazio and Juventus all anxious to avoid any slip-ups against second rate opposition.
All three teams have 22 points from 11 matches, and each of them is also doing well in European competition. In theory, they are in for a quiet weekend. But in practice, someone is likely to unstuck.
Fabio Capello's Roma is at home to Lecce after resting two of its three forwards, 23-year-old skipper Francesco Totti and Vincenzo Montella, for its 1-0 midweek Italian Cup defeat to Piacenza.
The cup side featured several reserves, plus Marco Delvecchio, who has scored two goals in each of his last two Serie A games and will be the one to watch on Sunday.
Lazio is away to Perugia on Saturday, thereby giving it a three-day break before its European Champions League clash with Gianluca Vialli's Chelsea at the Olympic stadium.
Like many coaches, Lazio's Sven Goran Eriksson used a Mark II team for Italian Cup duty. The result was a drab 1-1 draw at second division Ravenna for the club who beat newly crowned world champions Manchester United in the European Super Cup.
Juventus, on seemingly unstoppable form at the moment, travels to Bologna. Alessandro Del Piero, rested in midweek, should return alongside Filippo Inzaghi and the ever-improving Zinedine Zidane.
No one in the top half of the Serie A has a worse attack than Juventus. The 13 goals scored, only two more than bottom club Cagliari, are a testament to an elusive form which Carlo Ancelotti's team only seem to find on cup duty.
However, Bologna goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca clearly isn't looking forward to the meeting.
"It is possibile to score points in Turin," he claimed. "But it would have been better to have played them a month ago. Now they really are playing well."
The two Milan teams are lurking two points behind the league leaders, though both are experiencing mixed fortunes.
Inter, which is at home here to Udinese, has finally emerged from a miserable run of form to win each of its last three games between cup and Serie A competition.
However, Ronaldo's season looks pretty much at an end after he underwent surgery in Paris this week, Chilean Ivan Zamorano is in doubt after a groin strain, and Christian Vieri is still battling to return from injury.
Vieri, who hasn't played since facing his old club Lazio Oct. 30, should be partnered up front by rising star Alvaro Recoba.
The Uruguayan scored a priceless matchwinner in the 90th minute last weekend and will probably get the nod over Roberto Baggio, who continues to wait patiently in the wings.
Neighbors and reigning champions AC Milan is away to a Fiorentina side who have already kissed their championship chances goodbye.
However, coach Giovanni Trapattoni is a great believer in team psychology and won't want to head to their Champions League date in Bordeaux after a bruising defeat. Skipper Gabriel Batistuta, who is suspended in Europe, will play alongside striker Enrico Chiesa, now back from injury.
Milan has been dumped out of Europe's big league and now have only its Serie A title to defend this season. On Sunday night, it will look to Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko, Serie A's joint top scorer with seven goals, and the playmaking skills of Croatian Zvonimir Boban.
Serie A fixtures this weekend (1400 GMT unless stated)
