After scoring nine goals in the first two Serie A games, Inter Milan continues its campaign at Lazio while front-runner Napoli visits champion Juventus in the weekend's biggest match.
Midweek action postponed from matchday 1 saw Milan win 5-2 at newcomer Benevento, while Atalanta beat hosting Lazio 4-1 for an 8-3 goal record, which puts it ahead of Inter's 9-5.
"Maybe we never had a start like this," Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said. "But now we focus on Cagliari because all games are complicated."
"Improving ourselves does not mean to be aiming for the Scudetto. This is a goal for Juve, Inter, maybe Napoli. I say no about the Scudetto hopes. Maybe we could talk about it after the next 20 games," Gasperini said.
Napoli, meanwhile, boasts an 8-0 goal difference, and Verona and AC Milan also had two clean sheets and are in the pack of five teams with six points.
This week the Naples side has worried about the coronavirus after winning 6-0 over Genoa, who had nine footballers test positive for COVID-19 after the game.
The first round of swab tests found no positives among the Neapolitans, who had a second round of tests on Thursday pending results.
Genoa, with a total count of 11 players and four staff infected, has asked to postpone its Saturday home game with Torino.
The pandemic's effects continue to be felt also in stadiums, where only 1,000 fans are admitted as cases have increased nationwide in recent weeks.
At Turin's Allianz Stadium, Napoli will meet Juventus, which trails two points adrift under new coach Andrea Pirlo, but remains the favorite to retain a title it won in the last nine campaigns.
In its latest outing, Sunday's 2-2 draw at tough Roma, the Juventus did show some uncertainties but had Cristiano Ronaldo twice on target as it snatched one point with a man dismissed.
The Portuguese ace has already struck three times, along with Atalanta captain Alejandro Gomez, Andrey Galabinov of promoted Spezia and Inter's Romelu Lukaku.
Inter, which finished second last season, is widely considered to be Juventus’ toughest opponent, but five goals conceded so far beg for tactical tweaks from helmsman Antonio Conte.
"We've got to work more on our balance because we also conceded two goals," he said after the Benevento game. "But I enjoy watching the team play like they did tonight, with incisive attacking moves."
"We should be enthusiastic about the fact that there's this respect for Inter, the players and the work I'm doing. After last season, when we did surprisingly well, we should be delighted that the experts see such potential in us," Conte said.
Spezia also impressed in midweek, winning 2-0 at Udinese, which is still at zero points with Torino, Sampdoria, Crotone and Parma.
Spezia’s first-ever Serie A campaign continues Sunday at Milan, which fights for a spot in Europa League following a one-year ban by UEFA over financial fair play (FFP) rules.
