Serie A Matchday 37: Milan aim to steal a march on rivals Juve

Juventus visit an AC Milan side who have moved into the top four following the Bianconeri's 10-point deduction.

Atalanta sit three points off the Champions League qualification spots and are best placed to challenge the Rossoneri, though they face a tough trip to Inter Milan this weekend.

Roma, alongside Juve, are La Dea's closest competitors and could leapfrog the Bergamo-based outfit with victory over Coppa Italia finalists Fiorentina.

At the other end of the table, Spezia and Verona are fighting for their lives and host Torino and Empoli — both of whom are already safe — respectively.

Game of the weekend: Juventus vs AC Milan (Sunday, 7.45pm)

European qualification is out of Juventus' hands following their 10-point penalty — they must hope other results go their way, while picking up enough points in their final two games to capitalise.

They face a Milan outfit who have not lost any of their last four meetings (two wins, two draws).

This heavyweight clash could throw up plenty of drama as these two sides have a penchant for late goals. Only Roma (seven) have scored more times in second-half stoppage time than the pair (six).

Federico Chiesa may not be likely to start this match but he did score his first league goal of the season off the bench last time out.

He boasts a strong record against the Rossoneri, with three goals and three assists. He has not directly contributed to more goals against any other Serie A opponent.

Inter Milan vs Atalanta (Saturday, 7.45pm)

Atalanta find themselves in an unusual position ahead of the season's final two matchdays — they are just three points off fourth place but only two points separate them from dropping out of European qualification completely.

As a result, La Dea need maximum points, both to protect themselves and attack their top-four ambitions, with Champions League finalists Inter standing in their way on Saturday.

Ominously, the visitors have only lost more games against Juventus (66) than they have against the Nerazzurri (65) in their Serie A history.

Gian Piero Gasperini's men will certainly be aware of the threat posed by Inter striker Edin Dzeko, who has scored more goals against La Dea than any other opponent in the competition (nine), including a brace in this season's reverse fixture.

Fiorentina vs Roma (Saturday, 5pm)

Roma are sixth ahead of Matchday 37 but there is still plenty of room for manoeuvre. They are just a point behind Atalanta and one ahead of Juventus.

To maximise their chances of moving up, rather than down, the Giallorossi must defeat Fiorentina. Luckily, that is something they have achieved with some frequency recently, winning six of their last seven contests (one defeat).

However, La Viola have often frustrated their visitors, registering more draws against them than against any other top-flight side (60).

Additionally, Jose Mourinho's men have been in poor form of late, failing to win any of their last eight outings in all competitions (five draws, two defeats), although they will have one eye on next week's Europa League final against Sevilla.

Spezia vs Torino (Saturday, 2pm)

Spezia sit a solitary point above the relegation zone — if they can match or better 18th-placed Verona's points haul over the next two matchdays, they will be safe.

Torino are their next opponents, with neither side likely to come flying out of the blocks. Il Toro have scored the joint-fewest goals inside the first 15 minutes of Serie A matches this term (two), while Spezia are just ahead on three.

Spezia striker M'Bala Nzola has three Serie A goals against the Granata, having not scored more in the competition against any other side.

But Torino boast a dangerous centre forward of their own in Antonio Sanabria, whose record of 12 league goals is his personal best in any of Europe's top five leagues — though he has failed to find the net against the Aquilotti in four attempts.

Verona vs Empoli (Sunday, 11.30am)

Verona are within touching distance of safety but they are running out of time.

Victory over Empoli is far from assured, though, with these two teams being evenly matched in recent seasons.

They have each won four of their last 11 Serie A match-ups, drawing both their most recent two 1-1 and picking up the same number of points in 2023 (25).

This could be an ill-tempered clash — particularly with so much on the line for Verona — who have been shown the second-most yellow cards in the division this season (96), while Empoli have picked up the joint-most red cards (six).

The weekend's other games

Sampdoria vs Sassuolo (Friday, 7.45pm) 

Salernitana vs Udinese (Saturday, 2pm) 

Bologna vs Napoli (Sunday, 2pm) 

Monza vs Lecce (Sunday, 2pm) 

Lazio vs Cremonese (Sunday, 5pm)

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