Milan, Fiorentina in final European push

ROME (AFP) –

AC Milan’s forward Mario Balotelli keeps the ball to himself in the match against AS Roma at San Siro Stadium in Milan, on May 12, 2013. AC Milan and Fiorentina’s duel for Serie A’s final Champions League place, and a Udinese-Lazio battle for Europa League qualification will bring the curtain down on the Italian season this weekend.

AC Milan and Fiorentina’s duel for Serie A’s final Champions League place, and a Udinese-Lazio battle for Europa League qualification will bring the curtain down on the Italian season this weekend.

With Juventus having wrapped up their 29th league title two weeks ago, and Napoli securing the second automatic qualifying place for the Champions League, the focus falls firmly on qualifying for Europe.

Milan, crowned European champions seven times, currently sit in third place — nine points behind runners-up Napoli — with a two-point lead over Fiorentina.

The pair’s battle to finish in third has taken a dramatic turn of late, with Fiorentina openly scoffing Milan’s decision to present their new, gold-coloured shirt for next season, complete with an embroidered Champions League logo, on their official website.

Fans of the Milan giants would say they have every right to feel confident of a top-three finish as they host a Siena side which, along with Palermo and Pescara, have already been relegated.

Fiorentina have an equally manageable fixture — at least on paper — away to Pescara and coach Vincenzo Montella refuses to give up his dream of leading La Viola into the competition for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

Fiorentina players argue with referee Paolo Tagliavento (R) on April 7, 2013 during the match against AC Milan in Florence. Milan, crowned European champions seven times, currently sit in third place — nine points behind runners-up Napoli — with a two-point lead over Fiorentina.

“I believed when we were six points adrift, so we believe even more now,” Montella said.

Montella’s side have deservedly won praise this season, putting the likes of Montenegrin striker Stevan Jovetic and Serbian midfielder Adem Ljajic on the wish-list of some of Europe’s top clubs.

And the 37-year-old coach admitted he would go to extremes if Siena managed to pull off what would probably go down as the upset of the season — stopping Milan from finishing in third.

“I’d learn the Siena club anthem off by heart if they stopped Milan!” he added.

Any hint that Pescara may give Fiorentina a helping hand was kicked into touch earlier this week when the club’s president, Daniele Sebastiani, said they will not roll over.

“We beat Fiorentina earlier in the season,” Sebastiani told Radio Blu. “On Sunday we will honour the championship.”

With a four-point lead on Udinese, Fiorentina have already secured one of two automatic places for next season’s Europa League.

Udinese, on the other hand, will be hard pushed to hold on to fifth place. The northerners have a two-point lead on Lazio and face a wounded Inter Milan at the San Siro in one of seven games to be broadcast in Sunday’s late slot.

AS Roma’s forward Francesco Totti runs for the ball in the match against AC Milan in Milan on May 12, 2013. If Lazio fail to finish in fifth place, their hopes of a Europa League appearance will hinge on beating city rivals Roma to Italian Cup victory on May 26 at the Olympic Stadium.

Udinese’s solid form in recent months has come in large part down to the goalscoring of veteran striker Antonio Di Natale, who sits second behind Napoli’s Edinson Cavani (28) in Serie A’s scoring charts with 22 goals.

However Di Natale remains a doubt after suffering a calf injury in a 2-1 win over Atalanta, Udinese’s seventh consecutively, last week.

Inter are also desperate to finish what has been an injury-plagued but ultimately woeful season on a high by giving their suffering fans what would be only a 17th win of the campaign.

With Inter out of Europe and set for a finish just above mid-table, Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic told the club’s website, inter.it: “This year we played badly, but next year will be our year.

Sampdoria’s forward Maximiliano Lopez (L) fights for the ball with Juventus’ defender Giorgio Chiellini during the Serie A football match on May 18, 2013 at the Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa. Defiant Sampdoria ended Juventus’s hopes of closing their title-winning season in record fashion with a stunning 3-2 win over the Bianconeri in their final league games of the season.

“Having so many injuries played a part in our missing out on Europe, but I hope next year will be better, that new players will come and that we can build an even stronger team.”

In the event of defeat for Udinese, Lazio would leapfrog them into fifth if they take all three points from their trip to Cagliari.

If Lazio fail to finish in fifth place, their hopes of a Europa League appearance will hinge on beating city rivals Roma to Italian Cup victory on May 26 at the Olympic Stadium.

Defiant Sampdoria ended Juventus’s hopes of closing their title-winning season in record fashion with a stunning 3-2 win over the Bianconeri in their final league games of the season Saturday.

Juventus claimed a record 29th title two weeks ago but saw their hopes of finishing on a new record of 93 points ended by a 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari last week.

The setback left Antonio Conte’s side with another challenge: ending the season having beaten the other 19 teams, a feat not achieved in 51 years.

Fixtures (times GMT)

Sunday

Atalanta v Chievo, Bologna v Genoa (1300), Cagliari v Lazio, Inter v Udinese, Palermo v Parma, Pescara v Fiorentina, Roma v Napoli, Siena v Milan, Torino v Catania (all 1845)