Coppa Italia: Last 16

The Coppa Italia round of 16 continued last night as Roma beat Triestina 3-1, after initially falling behind to an early goal from the away side. Goals from Brighi, Vucinic and Baptista saw them through to the quarter finals. They join Inter who saw of Livorno by 1-0 thanks to a Wesley Sneijder free kick in december.

Today and tomorrow sees some fascinating ties with some David v Goliath battles among them. Today at 3pm UK time AC Milan face Novara at home. Novara, top of Serie C1 A are currently unbeaten this season. They have set the pace in the lega pro, as reported here, right from the start and so far in the Coppa have taken out Parma and Siena. Some 7,000 Novara fans are set to make the journey to Milan for this once in a life time clash. But, is it once in a life time. In Serie C1 A at the moment they are 5 points ahead of second and 9 points ahead of third. Serie B beckons, and once you get in there you are only one season away from the big league. They will enjoy their moment today, win loose or draw.

Elsewhere today Juventus face Napoli in a mamoth clash in Turin, as the sides are locked next to each other in the table. Napoli in my view start as favourites. They have already won here in the league and Juve are a shambles at the moment. Genoa also face Catania again today, having beaten them 2-0 in the league on Sunday.

Tomorrow sees another lega pro side face a Serie A one, as Udinese taken on Lumezzane. 10th in the lega pro at the moment, the Lombardy based side will also have their moment of glory against a Serie A side. A win here, possible against a struggling Udinese, would take them onto a huge match in the next round against either Milan or Novara. Fiorentina also face Chievo in an all Serie A clash that will be tough to call, while defending Champions Lazio take on Palermo and their manager Delio Rossi, the man who took Lazio all the way last season. Interesting stuff.

So who could face who in the next round?

Top half of the draw
Fiorentina or Chievo will take on either Lazio or Palermo
Inter will take on either Juventus or Napoli

Bottom half of the draw
Milan or Novara will take on either Udinese or Lumezzane
Genoa or Catania will take on Roma

So, the winners of the quarters will go onto the semi's and play the respective winners of their half of the draw. So, we could when all is said and done end up with a Rome or Milan derby in the final or Inter v Roma, the final that dominated this competition before last year.

Serie A round 19: Inter come back from the dead, Juve crumble to ruins

This weekends fixtures saw Juve smashed 3-0 by Milan and Inter comeback at the brink.

Inter 4-3 Siena
Inter played Siena and were 1-0 down early through a stunning Maccarone goal. Diego Milito leveled and Wesley Sneijder fired home from a free kick to set up what looked like to be another victory for Inter. But, Siena equalised almost immediately and after the break Maccarone finished off a fine move to give Siena, rock bottom of the league, the lead at the San Siro. And so it stayed, until the 89th minute where Sneijder again fired home a stunning free kick. Still, it was not the end as Goran Pandev set up Walter 'the wall samuel' in injury time to score. 4-3 Inter, Siena heartbreak.

Juventus 0-3 Milan
AC Milan demolished Juventus in Turin to keep up their superb momentum and close the gap on Inter to eight points, with a game in hand for the back and reds as well. Juve started well but dreadful defending cost them time and time again and first Nesta taped home after a Pirlo corner bypassed four Juve players, second Ronaldinho headed home unmarked on a corner and finally Ronaldinho again scored with a cool finish in the box under little pressure. Juve were broken here and in reality surely now a new coach is required to halt there mid season disintegration.
Race for the Champions League places
Fiorentina, Palermo, Napoli and Roma are the main current protagonists for these positions and can now even realistically challegne Juventus after all moving within at least three points of them. Roma, with ten men, held out for a 1-0 victory over Chievo thanks to a Daniele De Rossi header. Napoli also beat Sampdoria by 1-0 thanks to a German Denis header as well as they keep them fantastic run of being unbeaten under Walter Mazzari. Fiorentina also won, beating inform Bari 2-1. They came from behind after Edgar Baretto gave them the lead through a header from close range. The viola came back though for a vital win to keep them high in the table, as Adrian Mutu and Jose Castillo gave them the goals for the three points. Palermo also seem reborn under Delio Rossi, and an Edison Cavani penalty gave them the win over Atalanta.

Elsewhere
Lazio drew away to Udinese 1-1 to ensure they start the year unbeaten with new boy Sergio Floccari scoring for the third time in two games, but much better performances will be required if they are to pull away from the bottom of the table any time soon. Bologna crashed at home to Cagliari as they look set to be involved in a relegation battle right to the end. Genoa returned to winning ways as they beat Catania 2-0, while Livorno beat Parma at home to see them climb to 14th in the table, while Parma crash to their third straight defeat.

Congratulations Lazio

Congratulations to SS Lazio, for 110 years as a football club today. For me this is special, as you may know I am a Lazio fan myself. Watching Lazio, even this season, is still a total pleasure for me and something I look forward too week in week out. Just the mere possibility of victory is enough to have me on the edge of my seat and im sure thats the same for you, whoever you support. Its been 110 years that have yielded 2 Scudetti, 5 Coppa Italia's, 3 Italian Super Cups, 1 Cup Winners Cup and 1 European Super Cup is a cabinet to be proud of. Players like Signori, Salas, Nedved, Nesta, Crespo, Lopez, Simeone, Pandev, Rocchi, Di Canio, Stankovic, Mihajlovic, Boksic, Veron, Almeyda, Negro, Couto, Peruzzi, Zarate, Marchegiani Casiraghi, Mancini, Fuser, Winter and countless other top players have graced the Aquile shirt and given great football memories not only to Lazio but to Serie A also. Forza Lazio, heres to 110 more.

Week 19 Serie A Preview: Half way house

The headline match of the round is of course Juve v Milan on Sunday night. A defeat here for Juve could well end any hopes of getting back into the title race, while for Milan a defeat would only allow Inter to move even more ahead of them you would think as they face Siena, currently rock bottom after loosing 5-1 at home to Fiorentina. A Milan win however would put Inter under pressure as they have Bari away next, and then a meeting with their bitter city rivals. So, fascinating implications whatever happens.

Elsewhere, Fiorentina look to build up some stream but they will have to get past an inform Bari side, who seem totally fearless no matter who they come up against. Indeed, Bari have taken points of Inter, Milan and defeated Juventus so they will not be afraid against Fiorentina, despite the Viola's excellent season so far. Napoli will look to keep up their excellent record under Walter Mazzari and have every chance of doing so against a Sampdoria side that have come to somewhat of a halt of late. Roma also will look to keep pace with Napoli but will have to get past the dogged Chievo, certainly no easy task. Delio Rossi's Palermo will look to build on his good start, and come up against an Atalanta team that seem to be in real trouble. Genoa come up against a reborn Catania, while Bologna will look to pick up some points against Cagliari, but they may struggle to do so against one of the most exciting teams in the Serie A. Parma will look to bounce back from admirable defeats to Roma and Juventus by taking points of Livorno. Finally, Lazio and Udinese face of in Udine. Side by side in the table, these three points will go a long way to see who, if either, can catch up with the teams above them and ease the possibility of relegation.

Serie A week 18 round up: 5 star Milan answer Inter's Verona three point luncheon

AC Milan turned in a five star performance at the San Siro last night hitting 5 against a travel sick Genoa side, including a stunning Marco Boriello scissor kick. Guiseppe Sculli gave Genoa the lead early on but a Ronaldinho penalty, Thiago Silva tap in, Boriello brace and a Huntelaar penalty gave Milan the three points. Juve however were far more fortunate to pick up three points earlier in the afternoon. Despite going ahead against Parma through a Salihamidzic header Juve were on the back foot for a large chunk of the game, and it didnt help that Trezeguet limped off after 20 minutes. Parma deservedly leveled through Amoruso and Del Piero's brother in law nearly gave Parma the lead with a stunning long range volley. After the break it took an own goal to put Juve in front, and despite going down to ten men they managed to hold on. Still, neither Milan or Juve could make up ground on Inter as their lunch time kick off in Verona yielded three points against Chievo. Mario Balotelli gave them the lead after 11 minutes and that was enough for them to move up to 42 points.

Elsewhere
Roma lost two points in injury time as Cagliari again came back from the brink, as they did against Napoli at home before Christmas, to score twice in injury time to take a 2-2 draw against Roma. Rivals Lazio managed to win for the second time in three games as they mauled Livorno 4-1, with two goals from new signing Sergio Floccari. However, today star Mauro Zarate has been linked with a move to English side Arsenal and that will be of concern to the Lazio faithful so soon after loosing Goran Pandev. Further instability is certainly not needed there.

Napoli notched up another win under Walter Mazzari, and they still remain unbeaten under his guidance, as they beat Atalanta 2-0 in Bergamo. Fabio Quagliarella was on the mark for his beloved Napoli. Bari, another southern side, also continued their fine form as they beat a downbeat Udinese 2-0 as well to move up to 8th in the tight Serie A table. Fiorentina join Bari on 27 points but in 7th place, after an outstanding 5-1 win away to Siena. The Tuscan derby yielded goals from Gilardino, Mutu, Santana and Per Kroldrup. However, neither Sampdoria or Palermo could find a way to three points as they played out a 1-1 draw in Genoa.

In the relegation battle Catania showed signs of life once again. After beating Juventus away in the last round, the won a crucial home match against Bologna thanks to an 80th minute goal from Nicola Spolli.

Week 18: A look ahead

Weather permitting a fantastic day of action awaits us tomorrow as Calcio kicks off for 2010. Inter fans be prepared as your game kicks off first in Verona at 11.30 UK time as Chievo await to entertain you. Last season proved to be quite an encounter between both these sides as it finished 2-2. Goran Pandev will also make his debut for Inter tomorrow but this will not be an easy game for Inter. Chievo are very good at making a nuisance of themselves against almost every team in Serie A and their joint 9th place position in the table confirms this.

Next up sees eight encounters at 2pm UK time, with Parma v Juventus arguably top of the bill. The 90s saw both these side battle for the Scudetto on numerous occasions and with them both 5th and 3rd in Serie A respectively this season at the moment a win here for either side will push them closer to the summit. For Juve, anything but a win will surely see Ferrara sacked, and even a win may not be enough. Roma travel to Cagliari which will likely be a hugely entertaining clash as both sides have lots of goals in them. Roma, now in 4th, have been creeping up the table quietly . Luca Toni will likely make his debut for them in Sardinia. Lazio also have a huge encounter of their own, as they begin their celebrations of 110 years as a football club against Livorno tomorrow afternoon. New boy Sergio Floccari will make his debut here also.

Finally in the evening game David Beckham returns to Milan as they host Genoa in what will be a difficult test, but one they are expected to win nonetheless. In their last home match Milan crashed 2-0 to Palermo, but if they are to be serious challengers for the title then they must win this game and take advantage of any slip ups that Inter may make in their difficult away match with Chievo.

Winter Mercato: Floccari flys in

Lazio today have completed the loan signing of Genoa forward of Sergio Floccari with an option to purchase the forward at the end of the season for 9.5 million Euros. Floccari had a decent season for Atalanta last year knocking in 12 goals for the Bergamo side. Competition, and injury problems, have stunted his progress with the Grifoni but he has undoubted quality on the ground and in the air. Potentially a link up with Mauro Zarate, if the Argentine learns to pass more, could be the Lazio version of Cassano and Pazzini at Sampdoria. Lazio also have begun removing some of their accident prone players. Emilson Cribari has been loaned out to Siena with a reported option to buy for the Tuscan side at the end of the season.

Juventus have also got in on the act of removing one of their poorer assets. Cristian Molinaro has reportedly been sold to Bundesliga side Stuttgart. Midfielder Tiago is set to be off as well, by this time to Spanish pastures in the form of Athletico Madrid. This could fuel the arrival at Juventus of one of Gaetano D'Agostino or Cristian Ledesma.

Goran Pandev has signed for Inter Milan after his contract recision at Lazio, and will be available to Inter in the Champions League. He could have an initial vital role at Inter as Samuel Eto'o is off at the African cup of nations.

One rumour that has taken off today is AC Milan's pursuit of Edin Dzeko, the highly rated Wolfsberg forward. 25 million Euros and Klass Jan Huntelaar has been mentioned as the payment, but Dzeko would not be available to them in the Champions League due to his prior involvement in the tournament with Wolfsberg.