Fight for Champions League berths takes centre stage – Serie A preview, 8-11 March

WINDHOEK, MARCH 7 – Round 27 of the 2018/19 Serie A season will see the focus turn to the fight for UEFA Champions League berths, as the likes of Milan, Internazionale, Roma and Lazio scrap over positions three to six.

DStv and GOtv will be your home for the best action from the Italian top flight.

The title race seems to be all but over after Juventus claimed a 2-1 away win over Napoli at Stadio San Paolo on Sunday night, with goals from Miralem Pjanic and Emre Can securing a result which hands the Bianconeri a massive 16 point lead at the top of the log.

Juve need only 21 more points from 12 matches to guarantee the title – and that’s assuming the second-placed Neapolitans pick up every available point until the end of season. The ‘Old Lady’ will begin the countdown to yet another Scudetto when they open the round at home to Udinese on Friday night.

With the top of the table seemingly settled, the interest for DStv and GOtv viewers will fall on the results for Milan, Inter and the capital duo of Lazio and Roma (with the former claiming an emphatic 3-0 win over the latter in their derby clash this past weekend).

Milan are to third on the log and will fancy their chances of remaining in the position when they play away to bottom-of-the-log Chievo at Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi in Verona on Saturday night. Their rivals Inter have dropped to fourth after a surprise loss to Cagliari and will need to rediscover winning form when they host SPAL on Sunday at the San Siro.

Fifth-placed Roma have allowed Lazio (who also hold a game in hand) to close to within three points in sixth and the Giallorossi cannot afford anything other than a win when they host Empoli at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday night, while Lazio face a tough trip to Florence to face Fiorentina in a concurrent clash at Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Expect plenty of goals in that latter clash, with the Viola’s last three matches across all competitions producing a whopping 17 goals.

Key match stats

Juventus v Udinese – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 47
Juventus wins 32
Udinese wins 8
Draws 7

Fiorentina v Lazio – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 49
Fiorentina wins 12
Lazio wins 28
Draws 9

Sassuolo v Napoli – Head-to-head, all competitions
Matches played 12
Sassuolo wins 1
Napoli wins 7
Draws 4

Serie A fixtures, 8-11 March
All times CAT

Friday 8 March
21:30: Juventus v Udinese – LIVE on SS8, Max2 & SelGo5

Saturday 9 March
19:00: Parma v Genoa – LIVE on SS8/SS10, Max360 & SelGo2/SelGo5
21:30: Chievo v Milan – LIVE on SS8, Max1 & SelGo5

Sunday 10 March
13:30: Bologna v Cagliari – LIVE on SS8 & SelGo5
16:00: Sampdoria v Atalanta – LIVE on SS11
16:00: Internazionale v SPAL – LIVE on SS8 & SelGo5
16:00: Frosinone v Torino – LIVE on SS12
19:00: Sassuolo v Napoli – LIVE on SS8 & SelGo5
21:30: Fiorentina v Lazio – LIVE on SS8/SS10, Max360 & SelGo2/SelGo5

Monday 11 March
21:30: Roma v Empoli – LIVE on SS8 & SelGo5 – MultiChoice Namibia