MILAN, Feb 24, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Inter Milan have a chance to revive their
faltering title defence when they travel to lowly Genoa, one of two Friday
night matches with leaders AC Milan hosting Udinese.

  The champions were four points clear at the top at the start of February
but trail Milan by two, albeit with a game in hand, heading into their trip
to the Italian Riviera, after a miserable month which has also seen them
effectively knocked out of Europe by Liverpool.

  Simone Inzaghi's side let Milan, who could only draw 2-2 at bottom side
Salernitana, off the hook on Sunday when they fell 2-0 at the hands of giant
killers Sassuolo. The game exposed their problems front of goal.

  "A team that wants to win the Scudetto can't approach a game like that,"
said Inzaghi after his team were blitzed in the first half.

  Still Serie A's leading scorers, Inter had enough opportunities to earn
themselves at least a point against Sassuolo while the derby defeat to Milan
-- which started this current blip -- and the Liverpool loss both came after
strong displays which deserved more reward.

  Lautaro Martinez was the worst offender against Sassuolo, missing an open
goal from centimetres out and showing why he has scored just once in his last
11 appearances in all competitions.

  Good news for Inter comes in the form of Marcelo Brozovic, the Croatian's
suspension was a large part of why Sassuolo ran riot in the opening period at
the San Siro.

  Brozovic is a cornerstone of Inter's play and the contrast between their
displays against Liverpool with the 29-year-old, and against Sassuolo without
him was stark.

  Milan will keep their league lead if they beat Udinese before Inter take
the field at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

  Stefano Pioli's team kick off the weekend's fixtures fortunate to still be
top after both Inter and third-placed Napoli missed opportunities to make a
move last weekend.

  Napoli have a huge 10 days ahead, with Barcelona coming to town on Thursday
before they face Champions League-chasing Lazio in Rome on Sunday night and
then host Milan, who they currently trail by three points.

  Luciano Spalletti said on Wednesday that he has Lorenzo Insigne and Matteo
Politano back for Barca. Victor Osimhen in fine fettle and netting crucial
goals after his late leveller at Cagliari saved Napoli from a deserved defeat
on Monday.

  Player to watch: Mattia Zaccagni

  Zaccagni took some time to bed in after moving to Lazio from Verona with
the season already underway in August but has been hugely impressive in
recent weeks, racking up goals and assists for Maurizio Sarri's rapidly
improving team. With the league's leading scorer Ciro Immobile and Pedro
likely out of action, Zaccagni and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will be key to how
Lazio fare against Napoli, as they try to close the four-point gap between
them and fourth-placed Juventus in the Champions League race.

  Key stats

  55 - Inter are still Serie A's leading scorers despite recent profligacy.

  7 - Napoli are in the best form of the three title challengers, unbeaten in
seven since the turn of the year with four wins.

  Fixtures (times GMT)

  Friday

  AC Milan v Udinese (1745), Genoa v Inter Milan (2000)

  Saturday

  Salernitana v Bologna (1400), Empoli v Juventus (1700), Sassuolo v
Fiorentina (1845)

  Sunday

  Torino v Cagliari (1130), Verona v Venezia (1400), Spezia v Roma (1700),
Lazio v Napoli (1945)

  Monday

  Atalanta v Sampdoria (1945)