Round 34 preview: Titans clash in Milan as the Rossoneri seek to take advantage

Milan may be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alex Pato for a couple of rounds yet in terms of Serie A games at least, but with an away trip to Brescia followed by a home game against Bologna in the next two rounds they will be confident of securing six points and pushing on towards the title. And after Inter and Napoli both slipped up last weekend there is no rest bite for either of these sides as they have difficult fixtures to contend with in round 34. 

Inter begin by entertaining and inform Lazio side who themselves are desperate for points what with Udinese breathing down their necks for fourth place as things stand. And after a dismal display away at Parma last weekend Inter will look to bounce back and at the very least secure their position in the top three placing. It won't be easy however as Lazio looked inspired last weekend thanks to a virtuoso display in Catania that saw them destroy the Island side over 90 minutes by four goals to one, thanks to Mauro Zarate, Hernanes and Stefano Mauri having great games. It's been a while since Lazio won in Milan against Inter, a 5-3 barnstormer in 1998 being the last time that Lazio conquoured the San Siro in the league, and that actually includes games against AC as well which demonstrates that it has not been a happy hunting ground for Lazio in recent memory. This will give Inter confidence, not least their strong home form as well. Certainly a game worth watching. 

After Napoli's bitter loss last week at home to Udinese, mildly reminiscent of the manner in which Roma bowed out of the Scudetto race last year with a 2-1 home defeat to Sampdoria, they head to Palermo for redemption. However, after an excellent 3-2 win in Rome last Saturday and a midweek draw at Milan in the Coppa Italia Semi Final Palermo will be in confident mood and look to have overcome their post Christmas difficulties. Not an ideal time for Napoli to head their then, but will returning hero Edinson Cavani be able to make the difference against his former club? Stay tuned.

Elsewhere Juve and Roma look to pull themselves back into top four contention with home games against Brescia and Chievo respectively, while relegation bound Sampdoria surely have to stop the rot away at Bari this weekend in a make or break encounter.

Serie A dark horses Udinese are also worth keeping an eye on this weekend as they entertain Parma, fresh from beating European Champions Inter, in order to keep their Champions League dream going.