Milan looking to cement 3rd place against Genoa
Milan, Mar 8: After reaching third place in Serie A last weekend, AC Milan faces another difficult week starting with a potentially tricky trip to Genoa on Friday.Milan cruised to a 3-0 win over Lazio
Milan, Mar 8: After reaching third place in Serie A last weekend, AC Milan faces another difficult week starting with a potentially tricky trip to Genoa on Friday.
Milan cruised to a 3-0 win over Lazio to move a point ahead of rival Inter Milan. It now faces Genoa, which has undergone a resurgence under Davide Ballardini, before a trip to Barcelona in the Champions League protecting a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
Milan is five points behind second-place Napoli, which visits Chievo Verona on Sunday. Defending champion and Serie A leader Juventus hosts Catania.
"We need to concentrate 100 percent on the game on Friday so that we have an advantage over those who play on Saturday and Sunday," Milan defender Mattia Di Sciglio said. "Then we can think about Barcelona. We will obviously try to take advantage of any slip-ups by Napoli, game after game.
"Barcelona is going through a rough patch in regards to the past month but that is normal, every squad experiences such moments at some point during the season."
Milan knows better than most about rough patches after undergoing its own difficult period at the beginning of the season, when it looked set to be fighting off relegation rather than chasing a Champions League berth.
"Our only path at the moment is one game at a time," Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said. "We are doing well and following the defeat against Lazio in the first half of the season, we have collected 41 points in 19 games, which is a lot and now we have to concentrate on Genoa. We will think about Barcelona after Friday night.
"Third place is by no means secure. I am not going to get carried away. We just need to keep going. I would say that teams from Napoli to Roma can all hope of reaching a European place. Keeping Juve out of it, because if you ask me they have already won the scudetto, all the others can aim to finish second."
Milan could be boosted by the return of Mario Balotelli from injury. The striker picked up a knock against Inter and sat out the Lazio match but has now returned to full training, although he is likely to be on the bench.
Genoa lost 3-1 at Roma last weekend for its first defeat in six matches since Ballardini replaced Luigi Del Neri.
Ballardini has won both matches at home, against Lazio and Udinese, and Genoa, which was three points from safety when he took over, is now four points above the relegation zone.
Napoli is now looking over its shoulder at the other teams after a 1-1 draw against Juventus last week looks to have cleared the way for the Turin club to win its 29th Italian league title.
It has to hope for a slip up from Juventus, while it picks up maximum points, starting at Chievo, which hasn't won in its past five games -- losing four.
Juventus is six points clear at the top of the table and full of confidence after beating Celtic 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since it was demoted to Serie B in the 2006 match-fixing scandal.
"Now we're in the really intense part of the season, where you can't afford to make a mistake," Juventus coach Antonio Conte said. "We have to be very good, very focused in training as well as in the matches. We know we can get a lot of happiness out of this season, but it will be very difficult.
"We're favorites in our domestic championship, and rightly so, but we've still got plenty of fixtures ahead."
After succumbing to Milan last weekend, Lazio faces another direct rival in Fiorentina, which is just two points behind the capital club. Inter hosts Bologna also on Sunday.
Roma is two points further back and it travels to Udinese on Saturday.
At the other end of the table, Palermo hosts Siena. Both teams are tied for last along with Pescara, which travels to Atalanta with a new man in charge after youth club coach Cristian Bucchi replaced the fired Cristiano Bergodi.
Also on Sunday, it's Cagliari vs. Sampdoria, and Parma vs. Torino.
Milan cruised to a 3-0 win over Lazio to move a point ahead of rival Inter Milan. It now faces Genoa, which has undergone a resurgence under Davide Ballardini, before a trip to Barcelona in the Champions League protecting a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
Milan is five points behind second-place Napoli, which visits Chievo Verona on Sunday. Defending champion and Serie A leader Juventus hosts Catania.
"We need to concentrate 100 percent on the game on Friday so that we have an advantage over those who play on Saturday and Sunday," Milan defender Mattia Di Sciglio said. "Then we can think about Barcelona. We will obviously try to take advantage of any slip-ups by Napoli, game after game.
"Barcelona is going through a rough patch in regards to the past month but that is normal, every squad experiences such moments at some point during the season."
Milan knows better than most about rough patches after undergoing its own difficult period at the beginning of the season, when it looked set to be fighting off relegation rather than chasing a Champions League berth.
"Our only path at the moment is one game at a time," Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said. "We are doing well and following the defeat against Lazio in the first half of the season, we have collected 41 points in 19 games, which is a lot and now we have to concentrate on Genoa. We will think about Barcelona after Friday night.
"Third place is by no means secure. I am not going to get carried away. We just need to keep going. I would say that teams from Napoli to Roma can all hope of reaching a European place. Keeping Juve out of it, because if you ask me they have already won the scudetto, all the others can aim to finish second."
Milan could be boosted by the return of Mario Balotelli from injury. The striker picked up a knock against Inter and sat out the Lazio match but has now returned to full training, although he is likely to be on the bench.
Genoa lost 3-1 at Roma last weekend for its first defeat in six matches since Ballardini replaced Luigi Del Neri.
Ballardini has won both matches at home, against Lazio and Udinese, and Genoa, which was three points from safety when he took over, is now four points above the relegation zone.
Napoli is now looking over its shoulder at the other teams after a 1-1 draw against Juventus last week looks to have cleared the way for the Turin club to win its 29th Italian league title.
It has to hope for a slip up from Juventus, while it picks up maximum points, starting at Chievo, which hasn't won in its past five games -- losing four.
Juventus is six points clear at the top of the table and full of confidence after beating Celtic 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since it was demoted to Serie B in the 2006 match-fixing scandal.
"Now we're in the really intense part of the season, where you can't afford to make a mistake," Juventus coach Antonio Conte said. "We have to be very good, very focused in training as well as in the matches. We know we can get a lot of happiness out of this season, but it will be very difficult.
"We're favorites in our domestic championship, and rightly so, but we've still got plenty of fixtures ahead."
After succumbing to Milan last weekend, Lazio faces another direct rival in Fiorentina, which is just two points behind the capital club. Inter hosts Bologna also on Sunday.
Roma is two points further back and it travels to Udinese on Saturday.
At the other end of the table, Palermo hosts Siena. Both teams are tied for last along with Pescara, which travels to Atalanta with a new man in charge after youth club coach Cristian Bucchi replaced the fired Cristiano Bergodi.
Also on Sunday, it's Cagliari vs. Sampdoria, and Parma vs. Torino.