Serie A, Week 21 preview and fixtures: Table stagnates as most top clubs earn just a point

It may not have been the goal-fest so many were anticipating, but the match between Roma and Inter still provided plenty of drama. The two sides split the spoils, benefiting no one in their climb up the table, and leading many to wonder if Zemanlandia just might not be worth the hype.

The giallorossi continued to pour forth. In the 11th minute, Osvaldo had the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside. This would become something of a theme for the Argentine throughout the match.

The win leaves them six points adrift at the bottom of the table, while Sampdoria stay four points outside the relegation zone.

Goals: Bogdani 71 (Si)

The Granata are now unbeaten in five games, claiming back-to-back victories for the first time this season. The Delfini on the other hand go back to looking over their shoulders, following a second consecutive loss.

Santana was left all alone in the box to open the scoring on four minutes. He chested down Cerci’s cross and fired home from four yards. Pescara appealed for offside, but replays showed Santana was level when the ball was played.

Perhaps most impressive of all was the 29-year-old’s acrobatic stop to prevent a Sardo cross finding the back of the net. His sliced cross swung spectacularly towards goal, and was tipped over by the backwards-diving Mirante as Chievo attacked like they had never attacked before.

Parma weren’t in the ascendency for long, and Sardo should have equalised with a header from point-blank range, only for him to nod over the bar. Théréau forced another good save from Mirante with yet another header, though eventually the breakthrough came.

The match began slowly with neither side really establishing themselves on the ball. Opportunities were had to come by even when Milan began to take the majority of possession, it took until the 10th minute for Stephen El-Shaarawy to burst into the Bologna penalty area, but he was crowded out by three defenders and the ball went safely out for a goal kick.

The second half began in much the same fashion as the first had ended, with Milan knocking the ball around but being unable to really stretch the Bologna defence. Mbaye Niang’s right wing cross nearly found Pazzini, but the forward couldn’t stretch himself far enough to put it in.

Catania scored in the 4th minute, when Gonzalo Bergessio collected the ball from Alejandro Gómez and slotted it into the bottom right corner. Then, four minutes before the end of the match, the visitors did it again. In typical Catania style, they raced up the pitch. The pass from Mariano Izco found Pablo Barrientos on the right, and Pitu sent in a lovely shot, straight through the Genoa defense and past Sebastien Frey.

In the 82+ minutes between the two goals, the sides played out what could have been an interesting match, except it seemed Genoa were unaware of the effects of spacial thinking, perspective and gravity. The home side had 16 shots, but only four of those were on target. Marco Borriello was involved in a majority of the attempts, but barely any needed rescuing, as they veered off target or went high.

The mistake was sufficient for the viola to take a point, with both Napoli and Fiorentina staying second and fifth respectively. As a result, Juve’s gap at the top has now opened out to five points.

The second half followed much the same narrative as the first; slow start before getting gradually more and more exciting. Cavani was the first to test Neto after the restart, though his effort from a tight angle just short of the hour was comfortably held at the near post.

These two sides meet again midweek in the Coppa. Will they save their theatrics for that match, or will we be fortunate enough to see a two-act drama on the Roman stage?

Yeah, Stek is “injured”, alright. Is there some new strain of Czeck bird flu going around?

The next chance fell to Paul Pogba, heading Giovinco’s inswinging corner over from a mere three yards, the Frenchman complaining that he was impeded by the attentions of Dusan Basta.

A rare foray forward from Udinese resulted in a free kick which was hit straight into Buffon’s arms. The resulting counter attack put Giovinco up against two defenders, his shot was blocked but it fell kindly to Arturo Vidal and his powerful left footed effort was well saved by Padelli.

Miccoli had his pocket picked by a well timed Ciani challenge, as he took off towards the Lazio box four minutes before the break.

Rios was denied a penalty after colliding with Cavanda in the box, while Ujkani did well to tip a Hernanes grass cutter wide on the stroke of half time.

Milan should be the favourites at home however after their travails against Sampdoria last week, a lot may depend on whether El-Shaarawy decides to turn up or not. Bologna showed in midweek that they have the spirit to mix with the bigger sides on occasion and if they can repeat their performance, they could quite conceivably come away with a result from this match.

Milan Injuries and Suspensions

It’s almost certain the match between Genoa and Catania won’t be the best, or most refined, or the most elegant expression of calcio you’ll watch this weekend. Yet this game has striking implications for both sides.

What’s less apparent is just how important the three points would be to Catania. Should the rest of the results fall into line, the elefanti could move up to sixth place, even with Roma. Catania may only have the most outside of chances for reaching Europe, but how impressive would that be for the Sicilian side? The highest they’ve ever finished is 8th in Serie A.

Juventus Injuries and Suspensions

Udinese Injuries and Suspensions

Lazio come into the game in fine form. Currently unbeaten in 14 games in all competitions, it’s in stark contrast to the home team. The Sicilians have won just three games all season, are yet to win on the road and have collected a solitary point in their last six outings.

Palermo injuries and suspensions

Pescara injuries and suspensions

Out: Uros Cosic (injured) Juan Fernando Quintero (international duty)

Chievo injuries and suspensions

Out: Bostjan Cesar (suspended) Stefano Sorrentino (awaiting transfer) In doubt: Nicolas Frey, Roberto Guana, Boukary Dramé

Fiorentina Injuries and Suspensions

Out: Giuseppe Rossi, Ahmed Hegazy (injured) In doubt: David Pizarro

Nevertheless, Siena still stuck on just 11 points from the opening 20 matches, they are almost relegation certainties already. Since sacking coach Serse Cosmi in December, they have lost every match. A sound decision by President Mezzaroma, then.

Samp could have striker Maxi López back from his injury lay-off, though unlike Siena -- who have a full-strength team available -- they are without a few players through injury, including the season’s midfield revelation Enzo Maresca.

Round 21 in Serie A brings a few exciting match-ups, and for once, those games are being played throughout the weekend. None of that open-three-browser-windows and hope you catch the exciting bits of each match nonsense this weekend.

Read on for a quick run-down of what to expect from each match, and check back with this StoryStream for full previews and reports from the SBN Italia team.