Inter Milan maintained their four-point lead at the top of Serie A on the weekend, which with just five games remaining, keeps them in pole position for the Scudetto. However, it is the the race for the European qualification, which is instead gripping Italian bettors which could still see AC Milan, giants of continental soccer, fail to qualify for the UEFA Cup.
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When the sides currently in sixth and seventh in Italy’s Serie A – Sampdoria and Udinese - meet on Sunday, it will be a straight battle for UEFA Cup qualification. The clubs finishing fifth and sixth will automatically qualify, but the situation will be confused further if either Roma or Inter Milan win the Italian Cup (which also affords entry to the UEFA Cup) as they will instead play in the Champions League, extending qualification down to seventh. Neither club will want to rely on that scenario, so a win in this critical clash at Sampdoria’s Stadio Luigo Ferraris is essential for the European ambitions of both clubs.
Both teams had seven game unbeaten runs end abruptly on the weekend. Udinese lost at home to Roma on Sunday, while the Blucerchiati had their purple patch ended, losing 1-0 at lowly Reggina. The visitors have the difficult challenge of becoming only the second team to beat Sampdoria at home this season. The proximity of the sides in the table, and the context of European qualification, will make this a tight affair. However, Sampdoria haven’t winless in their last eight meetings, five of which ended in stalemate.
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It has been a good week for Silvio Berlusconi. Newly elected as Italy’s Prime Minister for the third time, the AC Milan president will have been concerned by his club’s weekend defeat at Juventus, which leaves their challenge for fourth spot in real jeopardy. The top four finishers in Serie A qualify for the Champions League, in which Milan has been an ever-present, reaching the final on three of the previous five years. As things stand the Rossoneri aren’t even guaranteed to hold fifth spot, which could even put them in danger of missing out on Europe all together.
In this context Sunday’s home game at the San Siro against Reggina is critical. Carlo Ancelotti’s side must take maximum points, but that isn’t guaranteed given the club’s shaky home form. Milan have won just five times at the San Siro this season, where the home supporters - spoilt by success - have become impatient. It would however, be a huge shock were Reggina to get anything from this game. The Amaranto haven’t won a single away game this term, leaving them stuck in the relegation zone, where they also spent most of last term.
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