Serie A, Week 26: Fiorentina taken down by Bologna

Gilardino couldn’t quite stretch far enough to stab home Gabbiadini’s inviting ball across the box. Migliaccio then allowed Archimede Morleo’s cross to creep under his legs and Viviano was called into action to palm Gilardino’s shot wide from ten yards.

January signing Christodoulopoulos came on and prodded Morleo’s cross over as he leaned backwards and went to ground. The Greek striker went one better six minutes from time. Diamanti’s dogged resistance rescued a ball out wide and his cross was only half cleared by Savic. The ball fell to the former Panathinaikos striker on the edge of the area and he blasted a half volley past Viviano into the bottom corner.

Both teams have had two days extra preparation after the pitch at the Dall’Ara was hit by the cold snap and deemed unplayable on Sunday afternoon.

Bologna currently languish in 16th position, but are five points clear from the relegation zone. The Rossoblu have proved hard to beat at home, with only three of their 13 losses coming at the Dall’Ara. They are yet to lose in front of their own fans since the turn of the New Year.

They started the second half well, though they couldn’t find a way through, and Lazio saw off the early barrage. Floccari should have killed the game when he was set through on goal by Hernanes just past the hour, though he hit his one-on-one straight at Pelizzoli from the left of the penalty area.

The biancocelesti were completely comfortable in the lead, and Marchetti had little to do in the entire second half.

Despite having more possession, Napoli struggled against the regimented Udinese defence, and, whilst still second in the table, Juve’s six point advantage means Napoli’s hopes of pushing the Old Lady to the wire are fading fast. With the draw, Udinese stay ninth.

The second half continued to be much more open than the first, and with little over 20 minutes to go there was an incredible miss by Edinson Cavani. After Hamšík played a terrific pass for Armero on the goal line, the Colombian pulled it across for Cavani, who somehow didn’t get a clean contact on the ball, skewing the shot wide from three yards. A collectors item that Napoli fans didn’t want to keep.

Lazio injuries and suspensions

Out: Cristian Brocchi, Miroslav Klose (injured) Michael Ciani (suspended)

The elefani could have made it 2-0 just past the half-hour, though Gonzalo Bergessio managed to scoop his shot over from inside the box. It didn’t matter too much, as Catania were two up at half time anyway. Another mistake by Mirante saw him claw Lucas Castro’s cross right into the path of Keko, who simply slotted into the open goal.

A rare Catania chance fell to Bergessio inside the final ten minutes, though somehow he managed to skew a shot right in front of goal way wide, after it was squared from the right.

Cagliari Injuries and Suspensions

Out: Jonathas, Riccardo Meggiorini, Mario Santana and Marko Bakić (injured)

Parma are currently tenth in the league, and will be looking to snap out of the form which has seen them fail to win in their last six. They still have an unquestionably impressive home record -- having been beaten at the Tardini just once in Serie A this season -- but they now haven’t won there since the first match of the year.

The upshot is the possibility of a switch to a 4-2-3-1 for Maran with Keko as trequartista, instead of the usually preferred 4-3-3. As per usual, Donadoni will have to decide whether to tackle the the rossazzurri with a 4-3-3 or a 3-5-2. Both of these clubs can play some of the most attractive football Serie A, so all hopes are pinned on the game taking place.

Genoa looked content to sit deep, and their three man defence proved effective at limiting the rosanero’s chances. While Palermo were putting crosses into the area, they simply weren’t able to get on the end of them.

With Rossi charging towards goal, García decided the best course of action was to blatantly trip Rossi in front of the official behind the goal, and hope he’d get away with it. Somehow, he did, and the game was goalless at half time.

Forget the fact that Siena have taken up residence in the Serie A relegation places for most of the season. The Robur have fought back from a six point deduction and clawed their way back into the reckoning. A ten point haul from a possible 15 means the Tuscans are now just four points from safety.

“We go with the objective of scoring a goal,” he said. “Simply defending isn’t enough. In midfield Juve are formidable - we need to be perfect when we have the ball and try to create something going forward.”

All roads this week lead to Milan, where the spotlight shines on the Derby della Madonnina. The reverse fixture was a dull 0-1 affair, in favor of Inter. Walter Samuel scored in the third minute, and then the teams just sort of stood around for the remaining hour and a half, staring at each other and wondering what might happen ext. But the second derby of the season can’t help but to be more exciting, if only for the number of possible story lines surrounding the match.

In recent years, Inter have the better Derby record when it comes to “hosting” the match. But this time, the serpents have plenty to fear from their devilish visitors. If Inter can grind out a result this time, it may truly be a miracle.

Genoa haven’t won away in Palermo in almost five years, and all of Palermo’s victories this season have come at the Renzo Barbera. Unfortunately for the rosanero, they’ve only managed to do that thrice all season, and they’re yet to win a game this year.

Palermo Injuries and Suspensions