ROME (AP) - After nearly 15 years of northern dominance in Serie A, southern clubs Roma and Napoli are showing signs they are ready to break the trend.
Through nine rounds in the Italian league, Roma leads with a two-point advantage over Napoli while four-time defending champion Juventus is eight points back in 12th place.
Displaying more strength with Edin Dzeko at center forward and more speed with Mohamed Salah on the wing, Roma moved into first with a 2-1 win at Fiorentina on Sunday.
It was the fourth straight win for Roma, which has finished second the past two seasons.
Napoli, meanwhile, is unbeaten over eight matches since dropping its season opener at Sassuolo, and has won six straight in all competitions, including the Europa League.
With Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan having won all of the recent titles, the last time a non-northern club won Serie A came when Lazio and Roma won back-to-back in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
Napoli’s only titles came in 1987 and 1990 with Diego Maradona.
So who is the favorite? Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa was in perfect position to answer that question after losing by the same score to Napoli and Roma in consecutive weekends.
“Napoli created more difficulty for us defensively, so I think they’re better balanced between the two areas,” Sousa said.
Napoli and Roma meet for the first time this season on Dec. 13.
In Wednesday’s midweek round, Roma hosts Udinese while Napoli welcomes Palermo.
Also this week, it’s: Bologna vs. Inter; Milan vs. Chievo Verona; Atalanta vs. Lazio; Frosinone vs. Carpi; Sassuolo vs. Juventus; Torino vs. Genoa; Hellas Verona vs. Fiorentina; and Sampdoria vs. Empoli.
Here are some things to know entering this week’s matches:
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LAZY HIGUAIN:
With seven goals in nine matches, Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain shares the league scoring lead with Sampdoria’s Eder and is on pace to drastically improve his output of 17 and 18 goals over the last two seasons, respectively.
Napoli’s first-year coach Maurizio Sarri was singing Higuain’s praises after the Argentina international scored a second-half goal in a 1-0 win at Chievo on Sunday.
“At the beginning of the season I told him that I thought he could become the best striker in the world but that he had to work for it because on certain plays he was too lazy,” Sarri said. “He applied himself and now he’s showing that he’s an extraordinary player.”
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FLORENZI’S FORM
Defense, midfield or attack, it makes no difference where Alessandro Florenzi plays.
Roma’s utility man tends to stand out wherever he lines up - with a flair for the spectacular.
Playing fullback, an alert Florenzi set up Gervinho for Roma’s second goal in Sunday’s 2-1 win when he caught Fiorentina’s defense out of position.
The goal was reminiscent of how Florenzi scored from near the halfway line against Barcelona last month.
Florenzi is also turning into a midfield fixture in the lineup of Italy coach Antonio Conte. He scored one goal and set up another when Italy overturned a 1-0 deficit for a 2-1 victory over Norway earlier this month to win its European Championship qualifying group.
Roma coach Rudi Garcia was asked if Florenzi could become one of the best wingers in Europe.
“I’ve thought so for a while,” Garcia responded. “He can play in every position on the right flank and maybe he ought to be paid the worth of three players.”
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JUVENTUS RECOVERING
After losing three of its opening six matches, Juventus is unbeaten in three games.
Paulo Dybala and Mario Mandzukic scored in a convincing 2-0 win over Atalanta on Sunday.
Massimiliano Allegri’s squad appears on the rise after a rough start shaped by the departures of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez.
“There’s room for improvement,” Allegri said. “Now we need continuity.”
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Andrew Dampf can be followed at www.twitter.com/asdampf
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