Monza will welcome AC Milan to the U-Power Stadium on Saturday night, with ‘I Biancorossi’ holding strong links to the ‘Rossoneri’: they are managed by a Milan legend in the shape of Alessandro Nesta, they are owned by the Berlusconi family – Silvio Berlusconi famously owned Milan from 1986 to 2017 – and they boast forward Daniel Maldini in their squad (the son of one of Milan’s greatest ever players, Paolo Maldini, and himself a former Rossoneri).
Last season Monza managed a famous 4-2 home win over the heavyweights, and a repeat result would be very welcome in the municipality which is only 15 kilometres away from Milan.
“Leaving Milan [was] complicated, but I needed to play, to have new motivation. Facing Milan will always be a special emotion; it can never be just another game. My dream has never changed: to return to Milanello one day, as a protagonist,” said Daniel Maldini, whose form for Monza earned him a call-up to the Italy national team in October’s FIFA window.
Another match to watch this weekend is the early Sunday fixture pitting Napoli against Atalanta at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. The ‘Partenopei’ and ‘La Dea’ are two of the most thrilling teams in Italian football, and their meeting should be a cracker.
Napoli tried to recruit Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini as manager, before they hired Antonio Conte, with last season’s UEFA Europa League winning coach admitting that he was tempted by the offer.
“It’s evident that [Napoli president Aurelio] De Laurentiis has for many years shown appreciation for me, that is very pleasing, but I think at the end of the day I was probably in his thoughts along with many other coaches,” said Gasperini, who referred to the situation as being a man who is “married with children and meets a beautiful woman.”
The round also features champions Inter Milan hosting Venezia on Sunday night, Juventus will have a ‘black and white derby’ away to Udinese on Saturday, and a trio of matches on Monday is headlined by a relegation six-pointer between Parma and Genoa.
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Broadcast details.
Saturday 2 November
- 16:00: Bologna v Lecce – LIVE on SuperSport Football
- 19:00: Udinese v Juventus – LIVE on SuperSport Football and SuperSport Maximo 360
- 21:45: Monza v AC Milan – LIVE on SuperSport Football and SuperSport Maximo 360
Sunday 3 November
- 13:30: Napoli v Atalanta – LIVE on SuperSport Football and SuperSport Maximo 360
- 16:00: Torino v Fiorentina – LIVE on SuperSport Football and SuperSport Maximo 360
- 19:00: Verona v Roma – LIVE on SuperSport Football and SuperSport Maximo 360
- 21:45: Inter Milan v Venezia – LIVE on SuperSport Football and SuperSport Maximo 360
Monday 4 November
- 19:30: Empoli v Como – LIVE on SuperSport Variety 3
- 19:30: Parma v Genoa – LIVE on SuperSport Football and SuperSport Maximo 360
- 21:45: Lazio v Cagliari – LIVE on SuperSport Football and SuperSport Maximo 360