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