Serie A — the top soccer league in Italy — will return to the pitch on June 20. Last week, Serie A executives reached an agreement with the Italian government. Serie A had initially looked at June 13, but the extension of the national lockdown to June 14 made that impossible. Italian Sports Minister Vincent Spadafora said at a press conference, “Italy is starting up again and it’s only right that football can also get going.” As with some of the other world’s major soccer leagues, the restart will take place in front of empty stadiums, at least for now. Let’s take a look at the standings in the league and talk about some of the contenders down the stretch along with some of the Serie A Odds for the games.
Soccer News: Serie A COVID-19 Status & Return Date
The Coppa Italia was also underway as well, with the semifinal second legs and the final still pending. AC Milan, a surprise semifinalist, drew with Juventus at home in the first leg, and Napoli beat Inter Milan, 1-0, in Milan in their first leg. Right now, those second legs would be played June 13, with the final coming on June 17. AC Milan has protested and has asked that the Coppa be postponed until after the Serie A season is completed, given the prestige of the competition.
Juventus has won the last eight Serie A titles and has posted at least nine points in each of the last four seasons. Inter Milan, who won five straight titles in a string that ended a year before Juventus started their run. Jose Mourinho had led that Inter side to a historic triple in 2010, as the team also won the Coppa Italia and the Champions League that year. However, Inter Milan, currently in third, has not finished in the top three since 2010-2011. Antonio Conte has added a significant amount of veteran savvy to the team as he won the Scudetto three times with Juventus. Diego Godin has been another crucial signing.
Lazio is just a point behind Juventus and has led the league at a couple of points this season. The addition of Argentinian national Joaquin Correa to the midfield has jump-started the Lazio offense. In his first 19 games with Lazio, he scored seven goals. He did go down with a calf injury but should have plenty of energy to go after the long COVID-19 hiatus. Manager Simone Inzaghi has been instrumental in Lazio’s success, particularly because of his tactical flexibility. When the team has fallen behind, Inzaghi has simply made a couple of switches to get the best result. Their +37 goal differential is tops in Serie A, thanks to attackers such as Luis Alberto and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. Their swift transitions from midfield to attack have made teams pay. However, unlike a lot of offensive powerhouses, Lazio has held steady on the back end, with solid play from their defenders. They have only permitted 23 goals, second-lowest in Serie A. Now can they come back and snatch the title from Juventus? Only time will tell.
