Catania vs Roma

AS Roma will be hoping to complete their miracle finish to the 2007-2008 Serie A season when they visit Catania at the Stadio Angelo Massimino. A victory for Roma coupled with an Inter Milan draw or loss will see them win the league title after being down by as many as 14 points a couple of months ago.

Roma come into this contest in 2^nd place of the league table with 81 points and they sit 1 point behind the league leaders Inter Milan. They also hold a 9 point edge on 3^rd place Juventus. Last week Roma held serve at home by a score of 2-1 over Atalanta at the Stadio Olimpico di Roma and were able to pull within 1 point of first place thanks to Inter’s draw at home. Roma are unbeaten over their last 5 games and have won 4 of them to give themselves a chance in this last game. The injured list consists of Pit, Totti, Taddei and Ferrari so look for manager Spalletti to go with a 4-2-3-1 featuring Perrotta and Mancini on the wings with Aquilani just behind the lone striker Vucinic.

Catania also need a victory in the worst way this week as it is the only result that will guarantee that they do not make the drop. As it stands now Catania are in the last safe spot of the league table- 17^th place- with 36 points and hold a 2 point edge on 18^th place Parma. Last week they picked up a huge point on their visit to Juventus by holding out for a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino. With their draw the side managed by former Italian national side keeper Walter Zenga snapped a 2 match losing streak. For this week’s match at home to Roma, Catania will be missing Spinesi and Mascara to injury while Izco is out suspended. Expect Catania to go with a 4-4-2 with Colucci and the Uruguayan Gonzalo Martinez in attack.

One of Roma’s many strengths has been their strong play on the road where they have won 9 out of 18 matches while drawing 6 and losing only 3. Only league leaders Inter have lost fewer matches on the road. The only reason Catania are not in the drop zone at this time is that they have been fairly tough at home with 8 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses in 18 games. With their backs against the wall they should be good enough for a draw at home which could kill Roma’s title hopes.

Prediction: Draw (0-0)

Juventus vs Catania

Juventus return home to face-off against Catania in week 37 of Serie A. The two sides are coming off of losses in their last match and this spells loads of trouble for Catania as they are right back in the relegation race as a result.

Juventus dropped the 3 points on their visit to Siena last week by a score of 1-0 at the MPS Arena. Going into that game the bianconeri had scored 15 goals over the last four contests but were simply unable to score this time around. With the defeat the vecchia signora will finish the 2007-2008 Serie A season in 3^rd place. Juventus currently have 70 points for the year and sit 8 points back of 2^nd place AS Roma while holding a 9 point edge on 4^th place AC Milan. Manager Claudio Ranieri will be missing 4 players this week with Andrade, Iaquinta and Zanetti out injury, while Molinaro sits out suspended. Juve are expected to go with a 4-4-2 featuring Trezeguet and Del Piero upfront with Nedved and Camoranesi on the wings.

Catania lost a terrible match at home in week 32 when they fell to Reggina by a score of 1-2 at the Angelo Massimino. This was a devastating result for Catania as it allowed Reggina to leap-frog over them in the league table from the drop zone. Catania are now in 17^th place of the log with 35 points on the year. This places them just 1 point on top of 18^th place Parma and the relegation zone while trailing the aforementioned Reggina who are now in 16^th place by 1 point. That makes this contest away to Juventus a must win for the side managed by for former Italy national side keeper Walter Zenga if they are to avoid falling into the drop zone with only 1 week left to play. Catania have picked the worst stage of the season to go through a bad spell as they have now lost 3 of their last 4. The lone bright spot this week is that only 1 player has been ruled out because of injury.

While normally Juventus would be expected to win this match going away, Catania have shot. Juve cannot affect their league position in any way over the last 2 games of the season. They are going to finish in 3^rd place and will play the first round of the Champions League. However, Catania are playing for their very survival and for this reason have a decent shot. A draw is not out of the question.

Prediction: Draw (1-1)

Palermo vs Catania

Palermo are home to open up week 33 in Serie A against Catania in a battle of clubs coming off of wins last week, and they will be looking to make it two straight at the Stadio Renzo Barbera following their big win over Juventus last week. Catania are also coming off of a big win at home and win look to extend their unbeaten run on the road.

Palermo come into this contest in 12^th place of Serie A with 39 points on the season. They sit just behind 11^th place SS Lazio and 2 points ahead of 13^th place Siena. Last week Palermo won a very exciting match at home over Juventus by a score of 3-2 with top scorer Amauri having a big match. The win snapped what had been a very bad stretch for the side managed by Colantuono as they had lost 4 straight games. This week the squad will be missing Capuano and Simplicio to injury while Cassani is out suspended. On a positive note Palermo will have both the aforementioned Amauri and Miccoli in the first eleven this week.

Catania held serve at home over Napoli in week 32 by a score of 3-0 at the Stadio Angelo Massimino. Catania are now in 15^th place of the league table with 32 points for the season. This leaves them 2 points back of 14^th place Torino and 2 points up on 16^th place Parma. It was the club’s first victory under new manager Walter Zenga and they looked extremely good in the process. The win also snapped a 4 match winless run which had seen them score just 2 goals over that stretch. This week Morimoto will be the only confirmed absence as it looks as though Colucci will be available off of the bench. Catania are set to go with a 4-4-2 featuring Mascara and Spinesi in attack.

Catania will be hard pressed to repeat their performance of a week ago when they visit Palermo. While the appointment of Zenga was uplifting in the short run, this is still the same Catania outfit who have failed to win a single road match in 16 matches. Meanwhile, despite their less than ideal league position, Palermo have won 7 of 16 games at home to go with 6 draws. Look for Palermo to pull it out.

Prediction: Palermo (1-0)

Sampdoria vs Catania

Sampdoria return home to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in hopes of replicating their strong performance of week 27 in Serie A. They will be taking on a Catania outfit that won a match they absolutely had to have last week in their struggle to avoid making the drop to the second division.

The blucerchiati came up big away from home last week with a 1-2 win over Parma at the Stadio Ennio Tardini. That victory gives Sampdoria 39 points on the year which are good enough for 7^th place in the league table. This leaves them 1 point back of 6^th place Udinese and 3 ahead of the 8^th place side Palermo. They have now posted 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat over their last 5 games. Montella remains out this week while there is a slight chance that Bellucci could be available. Striker Antonio Cassano remains out as he will be serving the second of a 5 match suspension. Bonazzoli looks set to make another start in his place.

Catania come into this contest in 15^th place of the league table with 27 points. They now sit 4 points back of Siena but just 1 ahead of 16^th place Livorno which is perilously close to the relegation zone. In their last match the side managed by Baldini held serve by a score of 2-1 over the struggling Cagliari at the Stadio Angelo Massimino. The win snapped a prolonged winless run and they have won posted 1 win, 3 draws and 1 loss in their past 5 matches. This week Morimoto and Jorge Martinez have been ruled out, while Biagianti will sit out suspended. Gazzola has been cleared to play and was included in the squad list. Catania will go with a 4-3-3 featuring Colucci, Spinesi and Mascara in attack.

The edge has to go to Sampdoria in this one. They come back home after a big win on the road to take on a Catania side who were only able to snap their winless run with a victory over last place Cagliari at home. Making matters worse for Catania is that they have yet to win a match away from home with just 5 draws from 14 matches. Sampdoria could win going away.

Prediction: Sampdoria (2-0)

Catania vs AC Milan

Catania face off against the red hot AC Milan looking to recover from their loss away to Empoli over the week that sends them farther down the Serie A league table. The rossoneri come into this contest after having secured a dramatic last minute victory over Palermo that lands them in the top 4 of the league.

The home side were beaten on the road in week 24 when they fell by a score of 2-0 to Empoli at the Stadio Carlo Castellani. The result leaves Catania in 15^th place of the Serie A league table with 25 points. They are now 2 points back of 14^th place Empoli, but only 3 ahead of Parma and the side fighting to stay out of the relegation zone. They are losers of 4 of their last 4 games and have been able to produce just 2 goals scored over that 5 game stretch. They are easily going through their worst part of the season and now face a daunting task when they host AC Milan. Manager Baldini will need to make due without the services of both Tedesco and Morimoto this week.

The rossoneri are at the other end of the spectrum in terms of current form. Their latest victory at home over Palermo by a score of 2-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza featured late game heroics from Pippo Inzaghi to secure the 3 points. With the victory Carlo Ancelotti’s club are now in 4^th place of the league table with 41 points, 6 back of Juventus and just ahead of 5^th place Fiorentina on goal difference. With this match coming just 3 days after the contest against Palermo it’s getting a bit difficult for Ancelotti to come up with a starting eleven as there are a number of injury concerns. In addition to Nesta, Dida, and Ronaldo who missed the contest against Palermo- it has now been confirmed that both Seedorf and Kaka’ are expected to sit this one out. Bonera, Gourcuff and Gilardino are among those expected to come into the starting eleven.

This will be a very tough contest for Catania. They just haven’t shown any life of late and they will be taking on an AC Milan outfit that have been absolutely superb of late. It is true that Milan have a number of injury concerns this week but the likes of Pato, Ambrosini and Gilardino should have enough to carry the day for the rossoneri.

Prediction: AC Milan (1-2)

Fiorentina vs Catania

Fiorentina face off against Catania at the Stadio Artemio Franchi looking to get back on track after having gone winless of their last two matches. Catania are in a poor spell of their own which has seen them drop into the bottom third of the Serie A league table.

Cesare Prandelli’s side had been on a fine run until they fell at home to AC Milan two weeks ago and that was followed by a 2-2 draw away to Atalanta last week at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri D’Italia. That draw has the viola in 4^th place of Serie A with 38 points for the season. They are 6 points back of 3^rd place Juventus and 1 point ahead of AC Milan. Morale is a bit higher in the lead up to this contest given that Fiorentina are coming off of a big win in their UEFA CUP match away to Rosenborg on Thursday which saw them run out 0-1 winners thanks to a goal from Adrian Mutu. The challenge now for Fiorentina is to build off of that victory and secure the points at home this week against Catania. Among the players out injured this week are Osvaldo, Vieri and Gobbi while starting defender Ujfalusi is out suspended. On the bright side, play maker Liverani is expected to return from injury.

Catania have really hit tough times of late. Last week they dropped all 3 points at home by a score of 0-2 against league leaders Inter Milan at the Angelo Massimino. The loss drops them to 14^th place in the league table with 23 points which are good enough for a 3 way tie with Livorno and Lazio. The loss extends their unbeaten run to 6 matches of which they have lost 4, two in a row and have score just 1 goal over their last 4 straight. Manager Baldini will need to work very hard to try and find a way to put a quick end to this stretch before it lands them in the relegation zone. The two players ruled out for this match are Sabato and Japan’s Morimoto. Catania should go with their base 4-3-3 featuring Martinez, Spinesi and Colucci in attack.

Fiorentina have the edge in this match. While they did slip up at home two weeks ago Catania are no AC Milan. Making matters worse for the visitors this week is the fact that they have yet to win a single match away from home this season. Catania provide Fiorentina with a wonderful opportunity to get back to their winning ways.

Prediction: Fiorentina (2-0)

Catania vs Inter Milan

Catania are certainly up against the ropes in week 22 of Serie A as they are up against league leaders Inter Milan. In fact, the neroazzurri are the only side in the entire league that have yet to lose a match this season.

The side managed by Baldini come into this contest after losing on the road to Genoa last week by a score of 2-1. The loss extended Catania’s current winless run to 5 consecutive matches and they have not been able to win a match in 2008. The loss also keeps them winless away from home this season. The fact that Catania cannot win away from home puts more pressure on them to come through with a win this week regardless of the fact that they are taking on the mighty Inter. Catania’s current poor stretch of results which has seen them lose 3 of their last 5, drops them to 12^th place in Serie A with 23 points. They are 4 points back of Napoli and just ahead of Lazio on goal difference.

There is not much left to say about Inter Milan. They have dominated the Serie A over the past 2 seasons and no other side in the league appears able to keep up with them this season now that AS Roma have had their 13 match unbeaten run snapped. In week 21 the neroazzurri held serve at home by a score of 1-0 over Empoli at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium. The win catapults the side managed by Roberto Mancini to 53 points on the year and they hold an 8 point advantage over 2^nd place Roma. They have been extremely strong away from home this year as well with 6 wins and 4 draws from 10 matches. While the injury list remains cluttered with Inter continue to role along. This week Maicon, Dacourt, Samuel, Cesar and Stankovic have all been ruled out while Vieira is out suspended. However, the play of the Chilean Jimenez along with Burdisso and Ibrahimovic upfront ensures that Inter Milan will still field a dominant starting eleven.

While Catania are having a very respectable first season back in Serie A, they would have to play what would amount to almost a perfect match in order to take the points this week. Inter Milan are about as well oiled a machine as can be and the play of their two strikers has been nothing short of spectacular. At best Catania will nab a share of the points.

Prediction: Draw (0-0)

Juventus vs Catania

Juventus and Catania will meet at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino for their week 21 match. The two sides are coming off of draws in their last contests but while Juve are at least coming home, Catania are being asked to recover the points they lost at home last week against one of the most in form sides in Serie A.

The side managed by former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri are coming off of a big 1-3 victory away to Livorno in week 20 at the Stadio Armando Picchi. It was another commanding performance by the vecchia signora which extended their current unbeaten run to 11 consecutive matches. Also impressive is the fact that they have allowed only 4 goals over their past 8 matches during the unbeaten run. Despite the strong run however, Juventus are finding it hard to move up the Serie A table. Through 20 rounds they sit 3^rd in the league table with 40 points for the year. They are 5 back of 2^nd place AS Roma and 10 behind league leaders Inter Milan. There will be a couple of notable absences again this week as starting keeper Gigi Buffon remains out while Zanetti and Iaquinta are suspended. The good news is that Mauro German Camoranesi and the club’s newest signing Sissoko will be available off of the bench. Belardi should spell Buffon once more in the net.

Catania played to a 0-0 draw last week when they hosted Parma at the Angelo Massimino. It was an extremely frustrating result for the side managed by Baldini given that it is at home where they have been able to earn the lion’s share of their points this season. In fact, they have yet to win a single match away from home through 10 matches. The draw leaves them in 12^th place of the league table with 23 points. They are one point back of 11^th place Napoli, and 2 up on 13^th place Livorno. The club will be without the services of the injured Sabato this week while Vargas and Edusei will be sitting out as they server their respective suspensions.

This match is leaning towards Juventus. Not only are they unbeaten in their last 11 matches, they have lost just 1 match at home this season and a loss to Inter Milan which eliminated them from the Coppa Italia earlier this week will only serve to motivate them even more. The fact that Buffon will not be in goal did not seem to hurt them much last week at Livorno. Catania are a nice club but it is not likely that they will be getting their first road win of the season away to Juventus.

Prediction: Juventus (2-1)

Catania vs Juventus

Catania face a stern test at home in week 18 as they will be hosting the red hot Juventus at the Angelo Massimino. The side managed by Baldini are coming off of a disappointing loss away to the lowly Reggina, while Juventus are on an 8 match unbeaten run which includes 4 wins in their last 5 matches with 1 draw. During those 5 matches they have outscored opposing clubs by 11-2.

At this time Catania are in 10^th place of the Serie A table with 21 points on the year. They are just behind 9^th place Sampdoria on goal difference and 2 points up on 11^th place Genoa. In week 17 they were beaten away to Reggina by a score of 3-1 at the Oreste Granillo. The biggest injury concern this week is fullback Sabato who is dealing with a left leg injury and has been ruled out. There are also two suspended players in Baiocco and Sardo. Baldini is looking to Izco to spell Baiocco in midfield while Silvestri will start in place of Sardo. A positive development is the fact that Jorge Martinez is back at 100% fitness and slated to start in a 3 man attack along with Spinesi and Mascara. Catania have been fairly consistent at home this season with 5 wins and 1 draw in 8 contests.

Juventus are on a roll as the prepare to visit Catania. They have not lost a match in over 2 months with their last one of 2007 ending in a 2-0 victory over Siena at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino. Claudio Ranieri has his side playing focused and determined football and this has them in 3^rd place of Serie A with 35 points, 1 behind 2^nd place Roma and 6 ahead of Udinese. On the injury front the right flank continues to be the weakest link with both Mauro German Camoranesi and Jonathan Zebina slated to miss yet another match. Look for Nocerino to take Camoranesi’s spot while the right fullback position is up for grabs with Salihamidzic and Grygera vying for the spot. The positive development this week is that David Trezeguet has been cleared to play after having been a question mark early. He currently leads the Serie A in scoring with 13 goals.

While on paper Juventus appear to be far superior, Catania are a pesky little outfit and could cause them problems. Still, the bianconeri have a lot of firepower upfront. Unless Polito has a big match in goal it could be a long day for Catania.

Prediction: Juventus (1-2)

Lazio vs Catania

Lazio return home to the Stadio Olimpico di Roma hoping to recover quickly from their bad loss away to Inter Milan in their Round 12 make up match. They will be up against a Catania outfit who put together one of their more polished performances of the season last week at home to Palermo.

The side managed by Delio Rossi have been victimized this season by mental gaffes at precisely the wrong moments at the defensive end and this has seen them concede an alarming 20 goals over their 14 matches. The lack of focus has been especially glaring when it comes to set pieces as markers have been missing their assignments repeatedly. Catania have not been much better than Lazio this season but given their history as being a lower league club, anything they accomplish in the first division is always reason for celebration. At this time they are in 10^th place of the Serie A table with 18 points while Lazio are 15^th with 14 points.

While Baldini’s club will have a couple of important absences this week such as Giacomo Tedesco who is out injured as well as being suspended for this match and the Uruguayan Jorge Martinez who is also suspended, Catania will continue to utilize their base 4-3-3 system. Midfielder Izco has been the player selected to cover for Tedesco on the outside right position while Colucci will swap places with Martinez. Martinez is currently leading the club in scoring with 5 goals. Lazio have not been a dominant club at home with just 2 wins in 7 matches and Catania feel they have as good a chance of taking the 3 points as they would have at home.

The Romans are in the middle of a rough spell which has seen them win just 1 of their last 5 matches. They did receive some good news this week on the injury front as both Stendardo and Goran Pandev, who had left the match against Inter Milan due to injury, have been given the green light to participate this week and Pandev is already penciled in as a starter. This match will also feature the return of Mutarelli who missed the last 3 matches due to suspension. These developments will allow Rossi to go with his typical 4-3-1-2 formation with Mauri as the play maker behind Rocchi and Pandev and the Argentine Ledesma sitting back in central midfield.

While Lazio have not been impressive at home this season, they should be able to find a way to get the job done this week. Catania have yet to win away from home this year and will be missing their top marksman. Failure to win for Lazio in the run up to their Champions League match against Real Madrid would put an enormous amount of pressure on Rossi and his side.

Prediction: Lazio 1-0

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