Serie A Matchday 36: Who plays who, when and where?

Roma put their five-game unbeaten run on the line when they host Fiorentina at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday night for Serie A’s Matchday 36.

Here’s the full break down of the 10 Serie A games taking place over the course of the next three days…

FRIDAY 24 JULY

AC Milan v Atalanta
Giuseppe Meazza, 21:45 CEST

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s brace meant Milan briefly moved above Roma into fifth by virtue of beating Sassuolo a day prior to the Giallorossi’s dominant win at SPAL - only another victory would see them repeat that trick this weekend.

While Milan are nine games unbeaten (W7, D2), Atalanta’s own 15-match streak (W12, D3) easily trumps that. La Dea won the reverse 5-0, albeit against a very different Milan side, and only Inter (37) have claimed more points on the road than Atalanta (36) this season.

SATURDAY 25 JULY

Brescia v Parma
Mario Rigamonti, 17:15 CEST

Defeat to Lecce last time out - paired with Genoa’s victory over Sampdoria - confirmed Brescia’s relegation and their 13th top flight demotion means they have now suffered more relegations than any other side in Serie A history.

Parma, meanwhile, ended a run of seven games without victory (D1, L6) by beating European contenders Napoli 2-1 on Wednesday, lifting them into the top half of the table in the process.

Genoa v Inter
Luigi Ferraris, 19:30 CEST

Derby della Lanterna spoils made it three wins from four for Genoa, but their future is still in the balance; safety is possible with victory, while defeat could leave them within a point of the drop zone depending on how Lecce fare at Bologna.

Seven points back from leaders Juve, Inter are just about in the title race with three games to go but their goalless draw with Fiorentina was a missed opportunity, and the injury to Stefan de Vrij and suspension of Nicolo Barella picked up in that draw will add to their frustration.

Napoli v Sassuolo
San Paolo, 21:45 CEST

Defeat to Parma saw Napoli slip five points adrift of Roma in the hunt for fifth and drop out of the top six for the first time since Matchday 25, but they welcome back 11-goal top scorer Arkadiusz Milik from suspension for Sassuolo’s visit.

Pedro Obiang - whose 94th minute goal in the previous meeting gave Napoli a 2-1 win - is one of five injuries for the visitors, while Mehdi Bourabia misses out after being sent off in the defeat to Milan last time out - a defeat that ended Sassuolo’s nine game unbeaten sequence.

SUNDAY 26 JULY

Bologna v Lecce
Renato Dall’ara, 17:15 CEST

A 1-0 defeat to second-place Atalanta on Tuesday leaves Bologna winless in their last five (D2, L3) and they haven’t tasted victory on home soil since beating Brescia 2-1 on 1 February.

A much-needed win over Brescia earlier this week made it two wins out of five (W2, D1, L2) for Lecce and victory here could move them within a point of safety, should Genoa lose.

Cagliari v Udinese
Sardegna Arena, 19:30 CEST

Defeat at Lazio made it seven games without a win for Cagliari who, as recently as Matchday 22, were as high as sixth in the table. Unfortunately they have won just twice since.

As for Udinese, they came from behind to become only the fifth team to beat Juve this season on Thursday - courtesy of Seko Fofana’s 92nd minute winner - and moved seven points clear of the drop zone as a result, meaning they could secure their Serie A status for next season at the weekend.

Hellas Verona v Lazio
Bentegodi, 19:30 CEST

Verona may have won many admirers since earning promotion back to Serie A, but they haven’t won many games recently and are now six without victory (D4, L2); a run that includes the 2-1 defeat to Roma on Matchday 33.

The visitors ended a sorry run of seven games without a win by edging out Cagliari last time out, but have currently gone three games without an away win.

ROMA v Fiorentina
Stadio Olimpico, 19:30 CEST

Roma’s 6-1 win at SPAL was a statement of intent, and Paulo Fonseca is spoilt for choice having rested Edin Dzeko, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jordan Veretout, seen Carles Perez hit his first league goal for the club, and the fit-again Nicolo Zaniolo score a beauty.

Fiorentina’s own form has been good and they’re unbeaten run is one better than Roma’s five-match record, but the visitors will have the 4-1 defeat to Fonseca’s side earlier in the campaign burned into their memory.

SPAL v Torino
Paolo Mazza, 19:30 CEST

Relegated SPAL’s hammering at the hands of Roma means they have now conceded 20 goals in their last six games (all losses), but their 2-1 win at Torino earlier in the season was one of five so far in 2019-20.

Only their hosts (26) and second-bottom Brescia (23) have lost more games than Torino (19) this season, while Toro have lost each of their last eight on the road and sit 16th - six points clear of relegation - going into this one.

Juventus v Sampdoria
Allianz Stadium, 21:45 CEST

Juve have won just one of their last five matches and missed the chance to clinch the title at Udinese, who stopped Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring for only the second time since the restart as Ciro Immobile (31 goals) passed the Portuguese (30) in the race for the Capocannoniere.

Derby day defeat to rivals Genoa will have stung Sampdoria - a loss that also ended a run of three wins on the bounce - ahead of a trip to Turin that last brought with it three points in January 2013.