Milan // The fall-out from Gonzalo Higuain's four-match ban will overshadow Serie A this weekend, when the Argentine striker and his Napoli teammates will be glued to a crucial San Siro clash between AC Milan and Juventus.
Sitting three points behind Juventus before last week's games, Napoli's bid for a first Serie A title in 26 years looks to be in tatters following a shock 3-1 defeat at Udinese that saw Higuain lose the plot after being shown a red card.
Higuain pushed and insulted referee Massimiliano Irrati and had to be restrained by teammates before being dragged off the pitch.
His moment of madness led to a four-match ban and, with Juventus now six points in front, will be seen as a pivotal moment in Napoli’s title quest.
Although Napoli are set to appeal what they regard as an “unfair sanction”, their best hopes now lie with Juventus slipping up along the way as they look to secure a fifth consecutive title.
Read more Serie A news:
Referee’s chief says Gonzalo Higuain’s ‘shove can’t be ignored’ as Napoli striker faces lengthy ban
Gonzalo Higuain: Napoli ‘can keep on dreaming’ of catching Juventus in Serie A race
But the champions are on an unbeaten run of 21 games, and defender Andrea Barzagli believes Juve’s strength and belief will prevail. A win would allow coach Massimilano Allegri to walk away victorious from the club that sacked him in January 2014.
“Winning at Milan would be a big step towards the title. We will have one less game to play and be even closer to our objective,” Barzagli told juventus.com.
“In recent years we’ve become a stronger side thanks to our belief and to the hard work we’ve put in, so we feel like we deserve our place in the table.
“But our feet are firmly on the ground.”
A 21st win in 22 games would take Juve’s lead over Napoli to a morale-sapping nine points a day before Maurizio Sarri’s men host basement side Verona at the San Paolo.
But Milan haven’t surrendered yet, and Napoli’s players will be praying the Rossoneri cause an upset with a home win that would reignite the title race and boost Milan’s Europa League hopes.
Milan are currently 24 points behind Juventus, 14 off the last Champions League spot and six behind Inter Milan, who occupy the last Europa League spot.
The pressure on coach Sinisa Mihajlovic increased after last week’s 2-1 defeat at Atalanta, meaning Milan have taken only two points from their last four games.
It is hardly what you expect from a club that have been European champions seven times, but struggling to qualify for the Champions League is now the reality for Rossoneri fans.
Meanwhile, captain and midfielder Riccardo Montolivo says the club, and the players, are fully behind the boss.
“The team is and always will be behind Mihajlovic. I know him better than anyone else here, and when he’s under pressure that’s when you get the best out of him,” said Montolivo.
“Together, we’re working hard to get out of a sticky situation. It will be a tough game on Saturday, but we’ll be a different side when we go out on the pitch.”
Milan will have one eye on Inter’s visit to Frosinone earlier on Saturday, although Roberto Mancini’s men are expected to prevail at the league strugglers having won the corresponding fixture 4-0 earlier this season.
Higuain will serve the first match of his ban on Sunday, when Manolo Gabbiadini should step into the centre of Sarri’s three-pronged attack alongside Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon.
Anything less than a win against a Verona side that has been rooted to the bottom most of the campaign would likely spark early title celebrations in Turin.
It would also boost Roma’s hopes of overtaking Napoli and clinching the league’s second automatic Champions League qualifying spot.
Roma are third but only four points behind Napoli before hosting Bologna on Monday.
Italian Serie A fixtures (in UAE time)
Saturday
Frosinone v Inter Milan, 5pm
Chievo v Carpi, 8pm
Sassuolo v Genoa, 8pm
AC Milan v Juventus, 10.45pm
Sunday
Empoli v Fiorentina, 2.30pm
Napoli v Verona, 5pm
Sampdoria v Udinese, 5pm
Torino v Atalanta, 5pm
Palermo v Lazio, 10.45pm
Monday
Roma v Bologna, 10.45pm
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Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
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Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
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Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
SQUADS
India
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi, George Worker, Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
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Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
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