Serie A Round 10 Review: Roma Cruising, Sassuolo Rising, Milan Heating Up

Is anyone going to stop Roma?

The giants from the capital are on a roll through the first 10 rounds of the Serie A campaign. With wins over Fiorentina and Udinese, Roma is sitting on 23 points at the unofficial quarter-way mark in the league.

Napoli and Fiorentina remain on Roma's heels, but Rudi Garcia's side is the favorite right now to claim the Scudetto. That would end a 15-year drought.

Close behind Napoli and Fiorentina is Sassuolo. The boys in green and black are still so much fun to watch. After falling to Milan, Sassuolo came back and topped Juventus. Ten games in, Sassuolo is only five points off the leaders.

Milan, meanwhile, is heating up. That win over Sassuolo was huge, given the history between the two sides. The Rossoneri then held off Chievo in the pouring rain, securing three important points.

Player of the Round: Gonzalo Higuain, Napoli

Higuain scored the first of Napoli's two goals against Palermo, and he could have easily had more. Another effort hit the post, and he put four of his six shots on net.

Serie A Power Rankings, Round 8

1) Roma

Round 8 Ranking: 1st; Round 9: Defeated Fiorentina 2-1; Round 10: Defeated Udinese 3-1

Round 11: at Inter, Saturday, Oct. 31

The side from the capital remains in poll position in the Scudetto race, especially after defeating Fiorentina in the ninth round. Roma is performing better than any other Italian club in the attacking third, putting in a league-best 25 goals.

2) Napoli

Round 8 Ranking: 4th; Round 9: Defeated Chievo 1-0; Round 10: Defeated Palermo 2-0

Round 11: at Genoa, Sunday, Nov. 1

Napoli had a couple easy opponents over the last two weeks, but Maurizio Sarri's men have been fantastic in October. Sitting in 10th place after six matches, with two wins and three draws, Napoli is now in second place. Five straight matches have Napoli two points off Roma.

3) Fiorentina

Round 8 Ranking: 2nd; Round 9: Lost to Roma 2-1; Round 10: Defeated Verona 2-0

Round 11: vs. Frosinone, Sunday, Nov. 1

Had Fiorentina defeated Roma in the ninth round, the Viola would be sitting atop the Serie A table right now. Nikola Kalinic is putting himself in contention for player of the year in the league. His goal Wednesday was his sixth of the season

4) Inter

Round 8 Ranking: 3rd; Round 9: Drew 1-1 at Palermo; Round 10: Defeated Bologna 1-0

Round 11: vs. Roma, Saturday, Oct. 31

Inter had a good run at the top, but Roma, Napoli and Fiorentina are starting to separate themselves from the other top sides. Roma could put even more ground between them and Inter with a victory Saturday.

5) Sassuolo

Round 8 Ranking: 6th; Round 9: Lost 2-1 at Milan; Round 10: Defeated Juventus 1-0

Round 11: at Udinese, Sunday, Nov. 1

Keep being lovable, Sassuolo. After a loss to Milan—which seems shocking given the recent results between the two sides—Sassuolo bounced back with a win over Juventus. Sassuolo has been giant killers since its arrival in the top flight, and now it is starting to keep pace with said giants.

6) Torino

Round 8 Ranking: 5th; Round 9: Lost to Lazio 3-0; Round 10: Drew Genoa 3-3

Round 11: at Juventus, Saturday, Oct. 31

Torino is not in the best form entering the big derby match Saturday. But with the way Juventus is playing, Torino can prove Turin belongs to the boys in red right now.

7) Milan

Round 8 Ranking: 13th; Round 9: Defeated Sassuolo 2-1; Round 10: Defeated Chievo 1-0

Round 11: at Lazio, Sunday, Nov. 1

Hey, look, points! Milan has six points from its last two matches after taking one point from the previous three. Gianluigi Donnarumma is proving to be a solid player in net for the Rossoneri. The 16-year-old goalkeeper's only blemish was a well-struck free kick by Domenico Berardi.

8) Sampdoria

Round 8 Ranking: 7th; Round 9: Defeated Verona 4-1; Round 10: Drew 1-1 vs. Empoli

Round 11: at Chievo, Monday, Nov. 2

Sampdoria is slipping. After taking 10 of 15 points from the first five matches, the Gorillas have only taken five points in the last five.

9) Lazio

Round 8 Ranking: 8th; Round 9: Defeated Torino 3-0; Round 10: Lost to Atalanta 2-1

Round 11: vs. Milan, Sunday, Nov. 1

Good win against Torino. Not-so-great result against Atalanta. Can Lazio humble Milan's confident new goalkeeper?

10) Atalanta

Round 8 Ranking: 11th; Round 9: Lost to Juventus 2-0; Round 10: Defeated Lazio 2-1

Round 11: at Bologna, Sunday, Nov. 1

It would be so much fun to call a 2-0 loss to Juventus a bad result. Beating Lazio is a really good result, though.

11) Juventus

Round 8 Ranking: 10th; Round 9: Defeated Atalanta 2-0; Round 10: Lost to Sassuolo 1-0

Round 11: vs. Torino, Saturday, Oct. 31

OK, Juventus has to win the derby Saturday. There's the scorching hot take for this week.

12) Chievo

Round 8 Ranking: 10th; Round 9: Lost to Napoli 1-0; Round 10: Lost to Milan 1-0

Round 11: vs. Sampdoria, Monday, Nov. 2

Chievo has dropped from fourth to 11th in the span of five matches. A great start that included wins over Torino and Lazio and draws against Sassuolo and Juventus has been replaced by a string of losses.

13) Udinese

Round 8 Ranking: 14th; Round 9: Defeated Frosinone 1-0; Round 10: Defeated Carpi 2-1

Round 11: vs. Sassuolo, Sunday, Nov. 1

Heating up, by beating Frosinone and Carpi back to back. That's a big step, right?

14) Genoa

Round 8 Ranking: 12th; Round 9: Lost to Empoli 2-0; Round 10: Drew 3-3 at Torino

Round 11: at Chievo, Monday, Nov. 2

Genoa beat Milan, the bright spot of a lackluster campaign.

15) Empoli

Round 8 Ranking: 17th; Round 9: Defeated Genoa 2-0; Round 10: Drew 1-1 at Sampdoria

Round 11: at Palermo, Monday, Nov. 2

Riccardo Saponara had the assist in Empoli's 1-1 draw with Sampdoria after missing the Genoa match. Saponara continues to be amazing.

16th) Frosinone

Round 8 Ranking: 15th; Round 9: Lost to Udinese 1-0; Round 10: Defeated Carpi 2-1

Round 11: at Fiorentina, Sunday, Nov. 1

Congratulations to Frosinone, the first winners of the Derby Della Newcomers against Carpi. Frosinone is unbeaten in three matches against Carpi, dating back to the first meeting between the two last year in Serie B.

17th) Palermo

Round 8 Ranking: 18th; Round 9: Drew 1-1 vs. Inter; Round 10: Lost to Napoli 2-0

Round 11: vs. Empoli, Monday, Nov. 2

Thanks for drawing against Inter, Palermo.

18) Verona

Round 8 Ranking: 16th; Round 9: Lost to Sampdoria 4-1; Round 10: Lost to Fiorentina 2-0

Round 11: at Carpi, Sunday, Nov. 1

Who doesn't love an own goal from Rafa Marquez? The Mexican international had one against Fiorentina, after Sampdoria put four past Verona. American Serie A fans smile.

19) Bologna

Round 8 Ranking: 20th; Round 9: Lost to Carpi 2-1; Round 10: Lost to Inter 1-0

Round 11: vs. Atalanta, Sunday, Nov. 1

Can everyone agree Bologna is going down? "We're going down, down in an earlier round..." There are 28 rounds left, but it's hard to picture Bologna playing above Serie B next year.

20) Carpi

Round 8 Ranking: 19th; Round 9: Defeated Bologna 2-1; Round 10: Lost to Frosinone 2-1

Round 11: vs. Verona, Sunday, Nov. 1

When will Carpi figure out Frosinone?