Three key matches will help identify the leading teams.

With two rounds of settling-in now behind us, the fixture list presents one of those matchdays that invariably crop up at some unspecified point in the season, with two big matches (plus one, in this case) piling up to grab as much attention as possible. Of the six teams with maximum points after 180 minutes, five find themselves ‘trapped’ in these three blockbuster clashes: Roma v Atalanta, Juventus v Milan, plus Inter, who kick off the head-to-head fixtures by hosting Napoli at San Siro.

And perhaps it is best to start here, with a squad brimming with established players and options, taking on a team still searching for its true identity despite a largely stagnant transfer market. De Laurentiis has handed Allegri a squad unchanged from the one that finished the season under Conte; furthermore, the only new additions have been players returning from loan spells (Marin, Lang, Lucca) and the stopgap signing of Badiashile to cover for the injuries to Buongiorno and Beukema. The results so far have not been thrilling: a hard-fought and controversial victory over Genoa, followed by a home defeat to Como. Yet last year, whilst in charge of Milan, Allegri found a way to unsettle Chivu in both league encounters. It remains to be seen whether he will immediately abandon the back four in favour of a back three, or how Napoli will cope without McTominay, their mainstay over the past two seasons. Inter are eager to make their mark on the league, not least because Roma are hot on their heels.

Roma and Sarri’s new-look Atalanta are both on six points, but there are different ways of getting there: Gasperini’s side have been overwhelming, turning Malen into a goalscorer almost without precedent in the history of Italian football, with a Dybala in sparkling form and a defence so aggressive it takes the breath away from their opponents; the Nerazzurri, on the other hand, are struggling, having scraped through with two home wins against Sassuolo and Bologna, and giving the impression of a team still a long way off – and it could hardly be otherwise, given the tactical transformation currently underway – from its peak form. Despite a hint of discontent amongst the fans over the failure to sign a winger, the impression is that Roma, Champions League commitments permitting, could already be the second-strongest side in the league.

And so we come to Sunday evening’s main event, a Juventus v Milan clash that will test Spalletti and Amorim’s ability to adapt. The Portuguese manager will have to decide on the definitive make-up of his Milan side – in terms of players rather than tactics: what role for Rabiot, how much playing time Pulisic will get, and how to utilise Modric without overworking him with a double fixture. The Tuscan finds himself with two useful yet cumbersome late-arriving reinforcements, Sarr and Woltemade, and with the serious injuries to Yildiz and Thuram to contend with: whilst the latter obstacle seems surmountable, the former raises more serious questions. The clash at the Stadium won’t resolve them, but it could, one way or another, set the course for both sides’ seasons.