Serie A matchday 7 preview: Inter at Bologna, Lazio at Juventus, Roma without Malen, Nicola's Venezia face Napoli

Inter and Lazio share the lead on 16 points, both unbeaten, and both travel this weekend: Inter to Bologna on Saturday, Lazio to Juventus on Sunday night, the round's match to watch first. AS Roma, two points behind, host Genoa on Saturday without their top scorer, and Cagliari, fourth, go to Monza on Monday. At the bottom, Venezia have lost all six and have a new coach for the visit of Napoli.

Friday

Frosinone v Sassuolo (18:45 UTC, PSC Arena). Frosinone, ninth on ten points, lost 3–0 at Napoli; Sassuolo, eleventh on eight, drew 1–1 with Milan, and Vasilije Adžić has three goals for them. The sides drew 1–1 at Sassuolo's ground in the Coppa Italia in September, Sassuolo going through 4–3 on penalties; in Serie B Frosinone won 1–0 there in May 2025 and Sassuolo 2–1 in Frosinone in December 2024. Their last Serie A meeting here, in September 2023, finished 4–2 to Frosinone.

Saturday

Venezia v Napoli (13:00 UTC, Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo). Venezia have conceded 16, the most in the league, and lost 3–1 at Atalanta; ANSA reports the club dismissed Giovanni Stroppa the next day, after a sixth defeat in a row. Davide Nicola has signed until the end of the 2027/28 season, according to Tuttosport, and said his aim is survival. Napoli, eighth on ten, beat Frosinone 3–0; Sky Sport Italia lists Buongiorno, Vergara and Favasuli as out. The last meeting, here in March 2025, was 0–0; Napoli won the three before it, 1–0 at home in December 2024 among them.

Bologna v Inter (16:00 UTC, Stadio Renato Dall'Ara). Bologna, fourteenth on five, won for the first time this season, 2–1 at Lecce, but Riccardo Orsolini, who scored there, has a first-degree hamstring strain and an estimated three weeks out, Tuttosport reports. Inter beat Parma 3–0 and have scored 18, the most in the league; Sky Sport Italia lists John Stones as doubtful and Curtis Jones as out until the end of October. The last meeting here, in May, finished 3–3; Inter won 3–1 at home in January, the Super Cup meeting in December 2025 finished 1–1, Bologna winning 3–2 on penalties, and Bologna won 1–0 here in April 2025.

AS Roma v Genoa (18:45 UTC, Stadio Olimpico). Roma drew 0–0 at Como and have conceded three, the fewest in the league with Cagliari. Donyell Malen, the league's top scorer with six, is suspended for one match after his red card there, ANSA reports. Sky Sport Italia says Paulo Dybala was replaced at half-time against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday with a muscle problem and will be assessed, that Manu Koné was hurt in the first half, and that Mile Svilar is out until the second half of November. Genoa, seventeenth on four, beat Fiorentina 2–1 for their first win; Sky lists Colombo, Sow and Venturino as out. Genoa won 2–1 at home in March; Roma won 3–1 here in December 2025 and in January 2025.

Sunday

Udinese v Lecce (10:30 UTC, Bluenergy Stadium - Stadio Friuli). Udinese, fifteenth on four, lost 2–1 at Torino, their fourth defeat in a row; Lecce, thirteenth on six, lost 2–1 at home to Bologna. Lecce won 2–1 at home in February, but Udinese won the four meetings before it, 3–2 here in October 2025 the latest.

Fiorentina v Como (13:00 UTC, Stadio Artemio Franchi). Fiorentina, nineteenth on four, lost 2–1 at Genoa and have conceded 14; Como, seventh on eleven, held Roma 0–0. Fiorentina won 2–1 at Como in February, but Como have won on their last three visits to Florence: 3–1 in the Coppa Italia in January, 2–1 in September 2025 and 2–0 in February 2025.

AC Milan v Atalanta (16:00 UTC, San Siro). AC Milan, fifth on twelve, are unbeaten with three wins and three draws and drew 1–1 at Sassuolo; Atalanta, tenth on nine, beat Venezia 3–1. Elmas is suspended after his red card in that match, ANSA reports, and Sky Sport Italia lists Scalvini as out, Kessié to be assessed, and Gabbia and Saelemaekers out for Milan. Milan have not beaten Atalanta in the last five league meetings: Atalanta won 3–2 here in May and 1–0 here in April 2025, and the meeting in Bergamo in October 2025 was 1–1.

Juventus v Lazio (18:45 UTC, Allianz Stadium). Lazio, second, have five wins and a draw, have conceded four and beat Monza 3–1. Juventus, sixth on eleven, drew 1–1 at Cagliari, and Luciano Spalletti is suspended for one match for a provocative attitude towards the Cagliari coach at the end, according to ANSA. Sky Sport Italia lists Yildiz, Locatelli, Thuram, Ekhator and Grabara as out for Juventus, with Boga possibly in the squad; for Lazio, Gudmundsson and Rovella are out, Marusic is a serious doubt and Cancellieri could return. The last meeting here, in February, finished 2–2; Lazio won 1–0 at home in October 2025, and Juventus 1–0 here in October 2024.

Monday

Monza v Cagliari (16:30 UTC, U-Power Stadium). Monza, sixteenth on four, lost 3–1 at Lazio and have conceded 15; Gustavo Varela has four of their goals. Cagliari, fourth on 13, drew 1–1 with Juventus, and Daniele Maldini also has four. ANSA reports that Monza's Lorenzo Lucchesi and the Cagliari coach Fabio Pisacane are each suspended for one match. Cagliari won both meetings in 2025, 3–0 at home in March and 2–1 here in January; Monza won 1–0 here in March 2024.

Parma v Torino (18:45 UTC, Stadio Ennio Tardini). Parma, eighteenth on four, lost 3–0 at Inter and have scored four, the fewest in the league; Torino, twelfth on seven, beat Udinese 2–1. Torino won 4–1 at home in March; Parma won 2–1 here in September 2025, and the meeting here in March 2025 was 2–2.

The table before the round

#	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Inter	6	+10	16
2	Lazio	6	+7	16
3	AS Roma	6	+11	14
4	Cagliari	6	+3	13
5	AC Milan	6	+6	12
6	Juventus	6	+4	11
7	Como	6	+3	11
8	Napoli	6	+4	10
…
15	Udinese	6	−4	4
16	Monza	6	−6	4
17	Genoa	6	−6	4
18	Parma	6	−6	4
19	Fiorentina	6	−7	4
20	Venezia	6	−11	0

Inter play first, on Saturday afternoon; Lazio answer on Sunday night, and Roma can close the gap to the top on Saturday evening. Five sides are on four points above Venezia.

Numbers to know

• D. Malen of Roma leads the scorers with six; A. Raimondo, Lautaro Martínez, D. Maldini and Gustavo Varela have four each.
• Inter, Lazio, Roma and Milan are the four unbeaten sides; Venezia are the only one without a point.
• Roma and Cagliari have conceded three goals each, the fewest; Venezia 16, the most.
• Inter have scored 18; Parma four, the fewest.

The full round with kick-off times in your time zone is on the Serie A page.

Sources for the context: ANSA, ANSA, Sky Sport Italia, Sky Sport Italia, Tuttosport, Tuttosport.