While Juventus has already wrapped up their 28th title, there is still a lot to play for in the final weekend of Serie A football.
Champions League Battle
Juventus and AC Milan will be two of Italy’s three representatives in the Champions League next season, but the third and final spot is up for grabs between Udinese, Lazio, Napoli and Inter Milan.
The race to finish third and claim a place in the final round of the Champions League qualifiers has been complicated by the league’s decision to use the head-to-head rule rather than goal difference if teams finish level on points.
Udinese currently hold third place with 61 points, followed by Lazio on 59 and Napoli and Inter each on 58.
A draw at Catania would be enough to clinch Udinese’s place as they have a better head-to-head record than Lazio, who can only steal third spot if they beat Inter and Udinese lose.
Napoli, who might have blown their chances with a 2-0 defeat at Bologna last Sunday, need to beat Siena, hope that Udinese lose and that Lazio fail to win their game. They would then beat Udinese on their head-to-head record.
Napoli would also finish top in a three-way head-to-head should Udinese, Inter and themselves finish level on points.
Inter will only take third place if they beat Lazio, while both Udinese and Napoli lose.
Record Breaking Juventus
If Juventus avoid defeat against Atalanta they will become only the second team to win Serie A without losing a match, emulating Fabio Capello’s AC Milan in 1991/92. Perugia were unbeaten in 1978/79 but finished second in a league of 16 teams as opposed to the current 20.
The double is also a possibility for Juventus, who face Napoli in the Coppa Italia final on May 20.
Relegation Battle
At the bottom, Genoa, who have 39 points, should just crawl to safety at Lecce’s expense barring an unlikely combination of results.
