Serie A Week 36 Preview

The duel between Juventus and AC Milan continues to keep all Italian football fans enthralled. Juventus hold the upper hand but are by no means over the line yet. Both teams scored 4 at the weekend and were impressive. Behing them in the table there is a crazy scramble for third place with Napoli, Inter, Lazio and Udinese all on 55 points with just 3 games left. Goal difference may well be key and by that determinant Napoli are best placed for third. So much can happen and Wednesday’s 8 fixtures in particular will heavily influence the table. Get your team selections in by 5pm today for the clash of Chievo and Roma.

We will not hesitate to back Juventus to beat Lecce at home. Juve have shown all the qualities you would expect of prospective Champions in recent months, are still unbeaten in Serie A and have just won their last 8 on the bounce. The gap to AC may be small but Juve are marching to glory and I expect them to sweep poor Lecce aside easily. The Old Lady has had some fantastic defensive performances in their recent run of wins and though Lecce are playing for survival in 18th place I can’t see them gaining anything. Juventus to win 2-0 or so. They are worthy of inclusion in accumulators and I am picking 2 Juve men for the Fantasy team.

Title rivals AC Milan should keep the race going to the last day. Beating Atalanta at the San Siro would help. It was great to see Antonio Cassano score in the 4-1 win over Siena. His return is a boost to AC and is great for the man himself after his problems. Milan are still without the great Thiago Silva and possibly Mexes too but their record with Atalanta is strong and they should pick up 3 points. They will hope that Lecce can produce a shock at The Juvetus Arena.

Napoli have had a rollercoaster season but they now have a situation where 3 wins to finish will guarantee them Champions League football again as their goal difference is well clear of Inter, Udinese or Lazio. Napoli now play Palermo, the worst team on the road,in Italy this season with just 1 win. Provided Napoli can cope with the added pressure of the tightness of the table, they should be more than capable of winning and I will chance Edinson Cavani to add to his impressive 22 goal haul. Napoli is a club with strong links of friendship with Palermo but the Partenopei will put that aside for 90 minutes tonight. They should win.

Lazio are another of those teams who could finish third. They play Siena at home and should also be good enough for the win. If it comes down to goal difference Lazio are in poor shape with + 5, compared to Napoli’s +19, or Udinese’s +12. But 3 wins will be tough for any of the four teams involved to achieve so the Roman side must have a real chance. Lazio’s fans will be anxious about their side’s recent form where 3 of the last 4 games have been lost. Lazio were pretty tame in the losses to Novara and Udinese in particular. Maybe nerves are getting to the team. but Siena represents a better opportunity than most and if Lazio still have the courage and belief then they are a better team than the Tuscany outfit.

Parma have Inter at home and the Milan giants are another of the “club of four” on 55 points. Like Lazio, Inter are disadvantaged by their + 5 goal difference so they will only be worrying about winning the 3 games. Both Parma and Inter have shown strong form in recent weeks and this could be quite a contest. Parma’s 4 successive wins have put them into 9th place while Inter’s stop/start season is currently enjoying a brief purple period that has given them a shot at salvation via a top 3 spot. They hardly deserve it but don’t rule them out. Their task is probably harder than Napoli’s or Lazio’s for game 36.

The fourth team in the race for third is Udinese who travel to the already relegated Cesena. Last week was the first time all season that Udinese were outside the top 4 so their 2-0 win over Lazio was important to put them back in the mix. Regardless of how many points are needed, Udinese are the only team who could overhaul Napoli’s goal difference. If they cannot beat the worst team in Serie A who have nothing to play for then Udinese deserve nothing. I am pretty sure that Di Natale and co can win this and there is a possible accumulator taking shape if you fancy Juventus, AC Milan, Napoli, Lazio and Udinese.

Genoa are fighting with Lecce to avoid the drop and their match is at home to Cagliari. They must win as they have a real opportunity to gain on Lecce who have the formidable task of a trip to Juventus. Must win doesn’t always mean winning though and I find it hard to trust Il Grifone. The remaining games are Chievo v Roma at 5pm, Fiorentina v Novara and Catania v Bologna. The only standout likely result would appear to be Fiorentina winning at home to reverse their recent decline.

May 1, 2012 at 2:30 pm | Serie A