Round 26 preview: Pressure on Inter

The pressure is back on Inter this weekend, as they face a difficult trip away to Udinese, a ground were rivals Roma and Milan have both lost this season. But, Inter will be full of beans after their midweek win over English powerhouse Chelsea. Yet if Inter slip up in anyway shape of form, one feels that Milan will be right there behind them as they host Atalanta at the weekend in a derby with the closely situtated Bergamo side. Patos and Ronaldinho are in red hot form, and Huntelaar and Boriello's form will give Leonardo headaches over who to choose.

Other title contenders Roma face a hugely difficult task down in Naples for the 'Derby of the Sun'. Napoli, unbeaten on home turf, will face a Roma side in decent domestic form and aware of their potential given the 3-0 reverse that they suffered last year. This will certainly be one to watch.

Two other highly watchable clashes this weekend include Lazio's home game with Fiorentina, despite the Lazio fans boycotting the match, and Juventus's home game against Palermo. Three points in the latter match may go a long way to deciding who gets that final Champions League spot and in my opinion at least the away side will fancy their chances on Sunday night.

Elsewhere inform Sampdoria travel to a down in the dumps Parma side, while city rivals Genoa host Bologna in the formidable Luigi Ferraras. Bari travel to Catania in the first game of the weekend, and Chievo host Cagliari after the latters side defeat midweek. Finally, Siena travel to Livorno for a basement battle.

Euro Round up: Mixed bag for Italian club

A mixed bag of results for Italian clubs in this weeks European action. Inter Milan got the ball rolling in positive fashion last night with a 2-1 win over Chelsea, semi finalists in this competition five times in the last six years. Diego Milito finished off a fine Inter move after three minutes, and Estaban Cambiasso's scortching effort left Petr Cech with no chance on 55 minutes. Saloman Kalou did however give Chelsea a vital away goal when Julio Cesar made an error by not getting enough on the Chelsea mans effort. The tie is in the balance, and both will see viable reasons as to why they will go through but will this win over English opposition for Inter may finally give them the confidence to finish the tie.

Europa League roundup
Roma crashed out of Europe tonight in shocking fashion, conceding three goals in five minutes to Greek side Panathanikos.

Much like in Greece last week, where two goals were conceded in no time at all, Roma lacked the mental concentration to finish this tie off and fell to a 2-3 defeat. They only have themselves to blame here, and should be sitting pretty in the next round given their current form but failed to apply that on the continent. Juve however did not fail to do so, and progressed to face Fulham in the next round after a 0-0 tepid home draw with Ajax. It was a poor game compared to the first leg as both sides rarely threatend but nonetheless Juve find themselves in the last 16 and continue to build on their fresh start under Zaccheroni.

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Round 25: Milan creep back up, Inter stall and Roma progress

The games over the weekend and the Milan victory over Fiorentina tonight ensures that only five points separates the top three in Italy with 13 rounds still to play in Serie A. Inter again could not pick up three points for the third week in succession when they drew 0-0 with Sampdoria at home on Saturday night. An inform Sampdoria were always going to be difficult to deal with but Inters task was made more difficult when they were reduced to nine men after Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba were sent off in the first half. That being said, Sampdoria, Poli aside, were pitiful going forward and failed to put the nine men under any pressure. Roma though against Catania again took advantage of this opportunity with Mirko Vucinic hitting the back of the net again to give them a 1-0 win over relegation candidates Catania.

Milan however have responded from their Champions League debacle against Manchester United. Firstly, against Bari they played an assured and confident game of possession with Ronaldinho and Pirlo running the show. Gattuso also looked somewhat back to form of old, and Alex Pato started his second game since coming back from injury. But, it was Marco Boriello who gave them the lead with a stunning volley after Ronaldinho fed him with the through ball. Bari really did not have any answers to Milan's possession, although their were claims for a penalty later on in the first half. But Milan wrapped up the three points with Pato volleying in with assured composure after Ronaldinho's effort came of Bari keeper Gillet. To add salt into the 53,000 Bari fans wounds present at the San Nicola Baretto's penalty was saved by Abbiati late on in the match as the Italian confirmed his superiority to Brazilian Dida.

Elsewhere
Palermo wrapped up an impressive win over Lazio at the weekend by 3-1, and were aided by shambolic defending by the Roman club who failed to build on their solid win over Parma the week previous. Parma continued their dismal form falling to a 2-0 defeat to Cagliari as the Islanders continue their imperious form. Fiorentina finally returned to winning ways with a derby win over Livorno, but they needed the away side to be reduced to ten men before such a win was achieved. Chievo also returned to winning ways after loosing to Siena last week, the donkeys beat out a 1-0 win in Bergamo by downing Atalanta through a Sergio Pellissier goal. Other relegation candidates Bologna fell for the first time in five games to a resurgent Juventus who picked up their third win in a row.

Once again, Genoa showed what a strong home side they are with a thumping 3-0 win over Udinese, but Napoli again failed to pick up three points with a disappointing 0-0 away in Siena.

Week 25 preview: Tightening up again

With Inter dropping points in two consecutive games, and Milan still having a game in hand, three teams now have a chance to get their hands on the Scudetto this season. Inter lead the way, but face a tough task against Sampdoria at home this weekend. Samp are one of only two sides in Serie A to have beaten Inter this season and travel to the San Siro tomorrow night on a four game winning streak, and with Roma facing Catania at home and likely to win Inter will need to get back to winning ways if they are to maintain their lead one would feel.

For city rivals Milan though, just hanging onto their slim Scudetto chances, they face a tough task away to Bari on Sunday night and will have to bounce back from their midweek Champions League defeat to Manchester United. Bari have only lost once at home this season, and it will take a mammoth effort to make that two on Milan's part.

Juventus, fresh from beating Ajax in Amsterdam last night, face Bologna away who have actually gone unbeaten in their last five Serie A games and are approaching midtable. Juve though seem to have found some sort of form after beating Genoa and Ajax in this week, so they will look to build upon this.

The battle for the Champions League places is hotting up, and Napoli will look to beat Siena away to maintain their charge, but Palermo face a tougher task in keeping up with the pace as they have slipped in form somewhat of late, hammered at Roma 4-1 last week, and now take on Lazio who under new manager Edy Reja seemed a transformed outfit as they beat Parma away from home 2-0 last Sunday. Fiorentina however will look to put a win on the board after their defeat to Bayern midweek where terrible refereeing cost them dear. A win against Livorno in a Tuscan derby will help them put this behind them.

Elsewhere, Atalanta and Chievo face off in Bergamo and three points here for either team would boost survival chances. Parma, who have had an awful start to this year, will look to bounce back away at Cagliari but that will be no easy task against Allegri's side who are having a very decent season once again. Finally, Genoa take on Udinese and will look to add to their formidable home record once again.

Serie A round 24 preview

Round 24 will be the last chance for both Milan and Fiorentina to hone their skills in a competitive environment before they face Manchester United and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Milan face Udinese on Friday night at the San Siro with Pato and Nesta back in the squad and ready to play, while Fiorentina face a difficult trip away to Sampdoria who have won three on the bounce.

Leaders Inter face a nightmare trip to the San Paolo to play Napoli, where 60,000 fans are sure to will them on to beat Inter at home again for the third year in a row. Predictably, this is the Sunday night game and with Lavezzi returning for Napoli the home side will feel more comfortable up front, despite suffering their first defeat to Udinese last week since Walter Mazzarri took over.

Juventus, in crisis, host Genoa who are fresh from beating Chievo last week. However, they have been somewhat travel sick this season so if there ever was a time for Alberto Zaccaroni to get his first win for the old lady then this is it. Roma, who have been going in the opposite direction to Juve, host in form Palermo on Saturday afternoon. Delio Rossi has wipped Palermo back into shape and on course for a place in Europe next season. However, if they are to justify that then games against big opposition like Roma must end with them taking a share of the spoils. Having already beaten Milan and Juve this season, Palermo must see themselves capable of that.

Elsewhere
Lazio travel to Parma under new manager Edy Reja, and will have Cristian Ledesma back in the line up to give them some midfield stability and will look to remove themselves from the relegation zone as soon as possible. Fellow struggles Catania will host Atalanta as both look to gain some momentum after winning last week, while Chievo will look to bounce back from their defeat against Genoa against rock bottom Siena. Cagliari host Bari as both look to improve on their excellent seasons to date, while finally Bologna travel to Livorno in another six pointer

Week 23 review: Inter's one hand on the scudetto

Inter made light work of Cagliari on Sunday afternoon at the San Siro, dispatching of Cagliari by 3-0 in comfortable fashion, while city rivals Milan failed to win for the third consecutive round away in Bologna taking only a 0-0 draw from the match. Since the derby defeat Milan seem to have been hit for six, unable to score like they did so frequently only rounds ago and short on confidence once again much like they were at the start of the season. With Manchester United coming to Milan next week, if these sort of performances continue there season could be all but over in terms of hunting trophies. They face Udinese at home on Friday, so a chance to build up some momentum before that almighty champions league clash is on the table. Inter on the other hand keep on winning, and once again next signing Goran Pandev was on the score sheet. They have opened up a ten point lead on Milan, but now have Roma in their rear view mirror as the Capital side moved up into second place thanks to a victory in Florence. Fiorentina outplayed Roma from start to finish, and could have been well in front at half time. However, Roma punished them for not taking their chances and stole three points at the death through Mirko Vucinic.

Juventus woes continued however, as they could only take a point from Livorno away after initially falling behind. They take on Genoa at the weekend, and the away side will look to take advantage of a giant in crisis and build on their win against Chievo.

Napoli suffered their first Serie A defeat since Walter Mazzarri took over and their first goal conceded since December 12th 2009. Antonio Di Natale's hatrick was the difference as Udinese took the three points against the southern outfit.

Elsewhere
Atalanta picked up three points against a travel sick Bari side, while Catania took three points from Rome as they beat Lazio by 1-0. The Rome side have since sacked manager Davide Ballardini for former Napoli coach Edy Reja. Sampdoria won their third game in a row as they beat Siena 2-1 away from home, while city rivals Genoa continued their climb up the table as they beat Chievo 1-0 thanks to Marco Rossi. Finally, Palermo kept up their sparkling form by beating Parma 2-1 at home, with Fabio Simpilicio scoring a late winner.

Calcio News: Milan secure new investment

AC Milan today have announced a new sponsorship deal with Fly Emirates that has widened the suggestion that eventually Arab investment will buy out the club, currently run under Silvio Berlusconi. Sponsership payments of 15 million per season will give fuel to the transfer kitty as Milan continue to be linked to the services of Wolfsberg Edin Dzeko over and over again.

Elsewhere, the mercato was wrapped up a few days ago with some interesting deals taking place at the deadline. Milan signed former Roma winger Amantino Mancini from Inter, while Lazio took Thomas Hitzelberger from Stuttgart. The Rome club also added Giuseppe Biava to their backline. Parma were also active, signing Hernan Crespo from Genoa as the Argentine went full circle to where he carved out a name for himself in Serie A. Parma also sold half the rights of midfielder Macdonald Mariga to Inter for 4 million pounds. Juventus were quiet at the deadline, but did add Antonio Candreva to their midfield in the week before.

Week 22: Milan blow it once again

Milan 1-1 Livorno
With Parma v Inter postponed due to snow, Milan had the chance to put pressure on their rivals by taking all three points at home to Livorno. Sadly for them, it was an opportunity they just could not take as they stuttered to a 1-1 draw. Max Ambrosini put them ahead just before half time when he tapped in, a few minutes after an excellent Ronaldinho effort had hit the post. However, the lead was short lived as after the break Livorno leveled through Cristiano Lucarelli after Favalli had gifted the ball back to the opposition. Milan had no answers for the rest of the game as Serse Cosmi's boys shut up shop.

Napoli 0-0 Genoa
And while Milan dropped points the following day, Napoli will consider themselves in the same position after a 0-0 at home to Genoa. They had not beaten Genoa in 8 years, and it was clear as the game went on that this would remain the case. The best effort of the first half went to Paolo Cannavaro as his volley crashed against the San Paolo cross bar. After the break Napoli continued to create chances, but continued not to take them. German Denis had his effort saved when clear through against Amelia, and then moments later missed the target completly after being played through by Hamsik. It ended 0-0, but Lavezzi will return for the next home clash against Inter on valentines day.

Roma 2-1 Siena
Roma continued their climb up the table, and now find themselves in joint second place, though Milan have a game in hand. They left it late, but Stefan Okaka produced a moment of magic to give Roma three points before they face a stern examination away at Fiorentina this weekend.

Juventus 1-1 Lazio
Both sides were in need of three points, but both left somewhat disappointed after it finished all square in Turin on Sunday night. Juventus attacked right from the outset, but so negative were the tactics of Lazio that really Juve had no option but to keep going forward. Diego had a great chance to open the scoring early on, but his effort was directed straight at Muslera. Lazio's only chance came from Mauri in the closing stages of the first but the effort was not caught with much power. After the break Lazio came out with more vigour, but again sat back for the most part allowing Juve dictate the play. They did, and eventually won a penalty in dubious circumstances, in which Del Piero went down without virtually any contact. He converted the kick, but this sparked Lazio into life. Rocchi joined Cruz and Zarate in the attack and a wonderful ball from the latter was finished off by Mauri to level at 1-1. Lazio continued to go on the attack and looked much the better side in the last 15 minutes, but it was too little to late. If only they had attacked from the start.

Elsewhere
Bari put in a stunning performance to defeat Palermo 4-2, while fellow southern outfit Catania were held at home by an improving Udinese side 1-1. Chievo were also held at home by a similar scoreline, while continuing the theme of draws Fiorentina could only manage a 2-2 away to Cagliari, no doubt a difficult place to go. Sampdoria did however register three points, beating Atalanta 2-0 at home with Pazzini on the score sheet.