Venezia beat Udinese 2-1 to leave them alone at the bottom

Venezia move up to 6 points and above Udinese, who stay last on 5. Bologna, Torino and Cagliari, the sides level with or just behind Napoli, all play on Saturday 7 November.

by Gennaro SanninoSaturday 7 November, 10:44 CET· 1 hour ago

Girone: il Venezia batte l'Udinese 2-1 e la lascia sola in fondo. Il punto sulle altre — Grafica Arena Napoli

The round opened at the bottom of the table on Friday. Venezia beat Udinese 2-1 and handed them last place. Venezia move up to 6 points and 19th. Udinese stay on 5 and are now alone at the foot of the table.

Both sides have played 11 games, one more than everyone else. Venezia are now a point behind Monza and two behind Parma, Fiorentina and Sassuolo, who are all on 8. The teams above them still have their games to play, though. For Udinese the numbers are harsh: five points from 11 matchdays.

The top half

At the top it is Lazio on 28, Inter on 25, Roma on 24 and Como on 23. Milan follow on 21 and Frosinone on 20.

Frosinone, in sixth, are three points clear of seventh-placed Juventus on 17 and six ahead of Napoli. After ten matchdays this is no longer an early-season snapshot. Frosinone are settled in the top half of the table.

A crowded middle

Napoli's part of the table is the most crowded. Napoli and Bologna are level on 14, Torino, Genoa and Cagliari are a point behind on 13, and Atalanta are on 11. That is six teams separated by three points. Eighth place offers no protection: one bad round and you can drop to twelfth.

The fixtures

The schedule puts Napoli behind everyone else. On Saturday 7 November Torino host Lecce and Cagliari host Frosinone at 15:00 CET, Parma play Bologna at 18:00 and Roma host Sassuolo at 20:45.

Napoli face Lazio at the Diego Armando Maradona at 12:30 CET (11:30 UK, 06:30 ET) on Sunday 8 November. By kick-off they will already know whether Bologna, Torino and Cagliari have gone past them, and whether Roma have pulled further away.

On Sunday afternoon Genoa host Milan and Monza host Atalanta at 15:00. Fiorentina play Juventus at 20:45. Juventus are the only direct rival playing away against a side from the bottom half, and they could drop points too.

One match that matters

For Napoli the round comes down to one game. Lazio, the leaders, are 14 points ahead. If they win at the Maradona the gap grows to 17, and at that point the title stops being a talking point.

After the 4-1 in Porto, no result elsewhere can make up for what happens on Sunday. The only position Napoli can change is their own.