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Soccer-Italian first division weekend matches
1999-04-17
This weekend (kickoffs 1400 GMT unless stated, league positions in brackets): Saturday: Bologna (8) v Fiorentina (3) Bologna rest midfielder Giancarlo Marocchi ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Cup semifinal second leg at home to Marseille while striker Davide Fontolan is suspended and defender Massimo Tarantino out for a month with a knee injury. Fiorentina, who won at Bologna in the Italian Cup semifinal last February, at full strength with Gabriel Batistuta and Rui Costa settling their much publicised differences with temperamental Brazilian Edmundo after Wednesdays Italian Cup final first leg draw at Parma. Title-chasing Florentine have taken just one point in their last four away matches. Lazio (1) v Juventus (7) With his entire defensive line-up suspended, Lazio's Swedish coach Sven-Goren Eriksson also looks like losing Matias Almeyda of Argentina and Yugoslav Dejan Stankovic to injuries suffered in training on Thursday. Australian Paul Okon will start his first match in two years alongside Portuguese Fernando Couto in defence while Roberto Mancini makes way for Ivan De La Pena in midfield. Italy under-21 midfielder Roberto Baronio replaces Almeyda. Juventus will rest Uruguayan central defender Paolo Montero and France's Zinedine Zidane ahead of next Wednesday's European Cup semifinal second leg at home to Manchester United. Parma (4) v Sampdoria (16) 1830 Argentine Juan Veron suspended and misses the match with his old club who are chasing their first victory at Parma in serie A to escape the relegation zone. Samp's striker Francesco Palmieri returns from injury to boost a front line that has scored just eight goals away from Genoa all season. Sunday: Bari (11) v Salernitana (17) Colombia's Miguel Guerrera, scorer of Bari's late equaliser at Fiorentina last week, set to replace suspended South African striker Phil Masinga. The home side, without a win in their last four matches, will again be without first-choice goalkeeper Francesco Mancini - injured in training. The visitors, unbeaten in two matches under new manager Francesco Oddo, at full strength but have not won at Bari in 23 years. Empoli (18) v Piacenza (14) Relegation-doomed Empoli, with only one victory since November, without suspended midfielder Giovanni Martusciello as they bid for only their second win in 80 years at home to Piacenza. The visitors are at full strength as they look to improve an away record that has brought five successive defeats. Inter Milan (9) v Vicenza (15) Goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca returns from injury in an Inter team desperately looking to impress Marcello Lippi, due to arrive as manager in the close-season and reportedly drawing up his list for next season's squad. Ronaldo and Roberto Baggio will start up front. The visitors, who have not won away from the Mente stadium since December 1997, missing first-choice centre-backs, the suspended Gustavo Mendez and Marco Aurelio, against a side which has scored at a rate of three goals per match at home. Perugia (13) v AS Roma (5) Japans Hidetoshi Nakata, Giovanni Tedesco and Renato Olive all unavailable as the home side face in-form Roma - 10 points in their last four matches. Manager Zdenek Zeman plays the side who defeated league leaders Lazio last Sunday, with Marco Quadrini replacing the injured Brazilian Cafu at left-back. Udinese (6) v AC Milan (2) Milan's German striker Oliver Bierhoff this week pleaded with his old fans to applaud and not jeer his return to the club where he finished last season as serie A's top scorer. Udinese have no injury or suspension worries as they try to continue their run of five successive home wins against a side unbeaten in five games but without suspended defender Alessandro Costacurta and injured midfielder Demetrio Albertini. Venezia (12) v Cagliari (10) Midfielder Giuseppe Iachini returns from injury as the Venetians look for their first home win over Cagliari in 40 years. The visitors have Cameroon striker Patrick Mbomba (three goals in his last two matches) back from international duty but midfielder Cristiano Zanetti suspended.
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