Super-charged Serie A Sunday puts focus on Inter
Napoli host Roma and Fiorentina are away to Juventus in a super-charged Serie A weekend in which all four title contenders will have one eye on leaders Inter Milan.
Although designed to provide some pre-festive thrills, the penultimate round of games before the league stops for the winter break has been made even more enticing by the current state of affairs in Italy's top flight.
Inter travel to Udinese on Saturday with a one-point lead on Fiorentina, with Napoli two points behind and Roma in fourth at five points off the pace. Champions Juventus are only one-point behind Roma in sixth.
Inter could go four points clear of Fiorentina with a win on Saturday but their trip to the Friuli comes with a twist, 38-year-old striker Antonio Di Natale hinting Wednesday it could be his last home game for the club that has been his home since 2004.
"The fans are always behind us and always fill the stadium. I want to show my thanks in our last home game of the year by giving them a special gift on Saturday," said Di Natale.
Having seen Udinese lose to both Napoli and Fiorentina in recent weeks, either side of two wins against Sampdoria and Chievo, Di Natale expects no-frills Inter to be tough to beat on Saturday.
He added: "Their game is not exceptional, but they're winning consistently and conceding few goals. We've been working hard in the past days for this game."
Inter have scored the fewest goals (18) from the top six tearss, but Roberto Mancini's men have conceded only nine times in 15 games and their reverse at Napoli a fortnight ago was their lone defeat in nine successive outings.
Fixtures (times GMT)
Saturday
Genoa v Bologna (1300), Palermo v Frosinone, Sassuolo v Torino (both 1600), Udinese v Inter Milan (1845)
Sunday
Chievo v Atalanta, Empoli v Carpi, AC Milan v Verona (all 1300), Napoli v Roma (1600), Juventus v Fiorentina (1845)
Monday
Lazio v Sampdoria (1845)