Matchday 2 in the Italian top-flight is upon us as the action in the 2021/22 Serie A season resumes this Friday with the 12:30 a.m. ET Udinese vs Venezia clash. The new campaign kicked off last weekend amid much anticipation, with the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan, Roma, Napoli, and Atalanta getting things underway with crucial victories. However, not everyone enjoyed the opening weekend.
Juventus, who are one of the favorites for the Scudetto, dropped two points thanks to a 2-2 draw with Udinese. Cristiano Ronaldo, who started the game on the bench, had a last-gasp goal ruled out for offside and will thus be keen on getting off the mark in this round. Meanwhile, all three of the newly-promoted teams—Salernitana, Empoli, and Venezia—suffered defeats. Will the Bianconeri return to winning ways? Will defending champions Inter Milan and Mourinho's Roma continue their streak? Here's everything you need to know about Matchday 2 in Serie A.
League standings ahead of Matchday 2 in Serie A
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Top games to watch on Matchday 2 in Serie A
Hellas Verona vs Inter Milan: The Nerazzurri will be keen on defending their title and crucial to that will be this fixture. Suffering a defeat on Matchday 2 isn't ideal, hence why Inzhagi's men will be on the hunt for all three points. Summer signings Edin Dzeko and Hakan Çalhanoğlu got on the scoresheet in their opening fixture, a 4-0 victory over Genoa, and will be keen on guiding the Italian giants to a second consecutive triumph.
Juventus vs Empoli: The Old Lady began their campaign with a disappointing stalemate in Allegri's second debut game for the club. Their clash with newly-promoted Empoli is a must-win fixture as Cristiano and Co. look to avoid a two-game winless run. Speaking of Ronaldo, the Portuguese icon was benched for that draw with Udinese as speculation regarding his future continues to spiral. Will he return to the lineup this weekend? Tune in to find out.
Milan vs Cagliari: The Rossoneri began their 2021/22 Serie A campaign with a win but it was not the most convincing of victories. Pioli's men took on Sampdoria and came away with all three points thanks to a narrow 1-0 triumph thanks to an early goal from Brahim Diaz within the first 10 minutes. A better performance will be required or last season's runner-ups could risk dropping points.
Who's in and who's out?
Here are the list of players ruled out for the upcoming round from Italy's top clubs:
Inter Milan: Roberto Gagliardini, Alexis Sanchez, Gabriel Brazao, Christian Eriksen
AC Milan: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Franck Kessié
Juventus: Arthur, Adrien Rabiot, Aaron Ramsey
Atalanta: Duván Zapata, Hans Hateboer, Marten de Roon
Roma: Chris Smalling, Leonardo Spinazzola
