The 2007-08 Serie A and Serie B fixture lists have been drawn up and released by the Lega Calcio at a lavish ceremony in Rome this evening.Champions Inter will begin their Scudetto defence at home to Udinese while runners-up Roma will travel to Palermo when the new season kicks off on the weekend of August 25/26.
The fixture list was released at the Salone d'Onore room at CONI's Foro Italico headquarters and included the return of Juventus to the top flight after a season in Serie B. The Bianconeri will start their campaign with a home game against Livorno.
Milan are at newly-promoted Genoa in what promises to be a thrilling and tense first-day match-up while Lazio, who finished just ahead of the Rossoneri in third place last season, entertain Torino at the Stadio Olimpico.
The third newly-promoted side, Napoli, host Cagliari while elsewhere Fiorentina are at home to Tuscan rivals Empoli, Parma meet Catania at the Stadio Tardini, Atalanta make the trip down to southern Italy to face Reggina and Sampdoria are away to Siena.
A seeding system, which also included Juventus amongst last season's top four, means that the major clubs cannot meet each other in the first three rounds of the season.
The stand-out game of Week 2 on September 2 sees European champions Milan host Fiorentina. After an international break, Serie A resumes with Week 3 on September 16. Week 4 on September 23 sees the return of the Sampdoria-Genoa derby and the first clash of the heavyweights as Roma play Juventus at home.
The Giallorossi are in the thick of it right from the start as they then face Fiorentina away in Week 5 – which is the first midweek round of matches, Inter and Napoli at home in Week 6 and 8 respectively, Milan away in Week 9 and the Derby della Capitale against Lazio in Week 10 on October 31. The Lazio-Roma return takes place March 19.
The Turin derby returns to Serie A in Week 6 while, Napoli host Genoa on the same weekend. The return matches in Week 25 are scheduled for a midweek – February 27. Week 7 sees several top matches including Fiorentina-Juventus, Lazio-Milan, Inter-Napoli and Palermo-Reggina.
Fiorentina-Siena, Juventus-Genoa and Livorno-Lazio all take place in Week 8 after the international break. The return matches will be played on March 9 and will see Inter celebrate their Centenary at the San Siro against Reggina. Inter travel to Palermo in Week 9 with Genoa-Fiorentina and Napoli-Juventus at the same time. Napoli then visit Fiorentina in Week 10’s midweek fixtures as Inter host Genoa. The return matches will also be played in a midweek round - March 19.
The long-awaited grudge match between Juve and Inter will be in Turin in Week 11 on the weekend of November 4 and the return match on March 22.
Inter then host Lazio in Week 12 while Napoli play Palermo and Parma face Juventus. After another international break, Week 13 sees Juve facing Palermo and Genoa-Roma.
Milan-Juventus is in Week 14 on December 1 and the return is on April 13. The latter could be a potential Scudetto showdown so late in the season. Fiorentina entertain Inter on the same weekend.
Palermo-Fiorentina takes place in Week 15 while, Lazio play Juventus in Week 16. The Milan derby will be at the San Siro on December 23 and May 4. The first Week 17 clash will be played just before the two-week Christmas break and the return just two weeks from the end of the season - again, a potential Scudetto showdown.
Milan-Napoli and Lazio-Genoa are the highlights of Week 18 on January 13 – the first round of matches in 2008. The return matches will be played on the penultimate round of the season.
Napoli take on Lazio in Week 19, the exact halfway stage of the season. The return matches will be played on the final day of the season – May 18 – where Roma visit Catania, Milan host Udinese, Parma entertain Inter, Sampdoria play Juventus and Fiorentina travel to Torino.
Click here for full reaction to the draw
Serie A - Week 1
26 August 2007
Fiorentina - Empoli
Genoa - Milan
Inter - Udinese
Juventus - Livorno
Lazio - Torino
Napoli - Cagliari
Palermo - Roma
Parma - Catania
Reggina - Atalanta
Siena - Sampdoria
The new Serie B season kicks off with a heated derby between Bologna and Rimini.
The campaign begins on the weekend of August 25 and the big game is immediately at the Stadio Dall’Ara, where local rivals and promotion contenders clash in the opening round.
Chievo’s return to Serie B is marked away to Cesena, while Messina make the long journey up north to Triestina and Ascoli host Piacenza. Brescia-Vicenza is another intriguing opener between clubs who have done so well in the recent past.
The newly promoted quartet of Pisa, Ravenna, Grosseto and Avellino all start the season with tough away games at Bari, Mantova, Modena and Treviso respectively.
The regular Serie B season concludes on June 1 while, the dates of the play-offs and play-outs have yet to be confirmed.
Serie B - Week 1
25 August 2007
Albinoleffe - Spezia
Ascoli - Piacenza
Bari - Pisa
Bologna - Rimini
Brescia - Vicenza
Cesena - Chievo
Frosinone - Lecce
Mantova - Ravenna
Modena - Grosseto
Treviso - Avellino
Triestina - Messina
Week-by-Week Fixtures:
[Serie A Fixtures]
[Serie B Fixtures]
Club-by-Club Fixtures:
Serie A: [Atalanta], [Cagliari], [Catania], [Empoli], [Fiorentina], [Genoa], [Inter], [Juventus], [Lazio], [Livorno], [Milan], [Napoli], [Palermo], [Parma], [Reggina], [Roma], [Sampdoria], [Siena], [Torino], [Udinese].
Serie B: [Albinoleffe], [Ascoli], [Avellino], [Bari], [Bologna], [Brescia], [Cesena], [Chievo], [Frosinone], [Grosseto], [Lecce], [Mantova], [Messina], [Modena], [Piacenza], [Pisa], [Ravenna], [Rimini], [Spezia], [Treviso], [Triestina], [Vicenza].
Source: C4 Football Italia / Lega Calcio
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