Nothing yet decided but favourites emerge

The ongoing Serie A campaign is quickly heading towards its end.

Nothing is yet decided except that the top three teams - Inter, Roma and Juventus - have already made sure of a Champions League berth. Long-time leaders Inter and nearest pursuers Roma will avoid having to play the third qualifying round in Europe in August. Juve are certain to finish in third place.

Last weekend's results have put some teams in pole position to reach their pre-determined targets.

Milan, who are looking to make theirs the last available Champions League berth, were in commanding form as they brushed aside city neighbours Inter to claim their first 'home' derby win in over two years.

The result postponed Inter's title celebrations by a week but, more importantly for Milan, they have now leapfrogged Fiorentina who lost 2-1 at Cagliari.

This has been a disappointing week for Fiorentina who after conceding a late equaliser to Sampdoria the previous Sunday, they bowed out of the UEFA Cup after a heart-breaking penalty shoot-out defeat to Scottish side Rangers.

Defeat in Sardinia could prove to be costly for the Viola as now they are one point adrift of Milan. Fiorentina still have to cross swords with Parma (home) and Torino (away) while Milan travel to Napoli on Sunday before hosting Udinese on the final day. The indications are that Milan will retain the fourth spot.

Inter are still in a position to be crowned champions if they beat Mario Beretta's Siena on Sunday. The Tuscany side have already made sure of survival after beating Juventus last weekend but Beretta has already made clear that his side will be no pushovers against Inter.

Roma should beat mid-table side Atalanta at home next weekend but an Inter victory over Siena will end their hopes of winning the title.

Sampdoria and Udinese are engaged in a duel for a UEFA Cup spot with the latter currently enjoying a slim one-point lead. Samp still have to travel to Palermo and take on Juventus at home on the final day.

Udinese's calendar seems to be sterner as they still have to face Cagliari (home) and Milan (away). However, should Inter and Roma make it to the Coppa Italia final for the fourth year running this week, the side finishing seventh in Serie A will claim a UEFA Cup berth as well.

At the wrong end of the table, nothing is yet decided albeit the indications are that bottom side Livorno will be relegated.

As things stand at the moment, Nando Orsi's side are five points away from safety. The relegation issue could be resolved this weekend if Torino emerge undefeated from Livorno, Parma are beaten by Fiorentina and Reggina beat Empoli in a make-or-break encounter. If these results do happen, then Livorno, Empoli and Parma will be relegated.

The whole issue will become really complicated if Empoli conquer Reggina's Oreste Granillo Stadium and Parma deny Fiorentina from a victory.

Cagliari are almost home and dry. But the same cannot be said of Walter Zenga's Catania, who have two difficult fixtures coming up... vs Juventus (away) and Roma (home).

Serie A statistics

1st win for Torino after a miserable run of four straight defeats (vs Empoli 0-1, Genoa 0-3, Inter 0-1 and Roma 1-4) as the Maroons edged Napoli by the odd goal in three to move three points clear of the red zone. This was Torino's first win after four successive home setbacks. For the record, Napoli's most recent of 12 wins in 57 visits to Turin dates back to January 10, 1993 (1-0). For the second year running, Palermo overcame Lazio in Rome to condemn Delio Rossi's side to their sixth home defeat of the term. Over 56 years have now elapsed since the last time these two sides shared the spoils in the capital.

4th visit to Siena proved fatal for Juventus as they succumbed to their first defeat against the Tuscany side. A solitary Houssine Kharja goal condemned Juve to their first setback after four straight wins. With two games to go, Siena are safe from relegation. Strugglers Empoli were beaten by Udinese at home for only the second time - the first since May 1999 (3-1) - in eight visits. Over four years have passed since Empoli's most recent of two home wins vs Udinese. This win, coupled with Sampdoria's home defeat to Roma, propelled Udinese to sixth place.

5 penalties were taken last weekend. Torino skipper Alessandro Rosina converted a 26th-minute penalty to give his side a valuable half-time lead against Napoli. Veteran striker Nicola Amoruso completed a remarkable double as he scored from the spot deep into stoppage time to give Reggina a precious away win at Catania. The same cannot be said of Empoli's Sebastian Giovinco, who saw his effort from the spot blocked by Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic. Elsewhere, Goran Pandev gave Lazio an early lead from a penalty. A few minutes later, Palermo had a golden opportunity to equalise but Juve-bound Amauri's effort was stopped by Lazio's Nestor Muslera. Meanwhile, Adrian Mutu (picture), of Fiorentina, was the only red-carded player of the day.

5th win for Parma in six home meetings with Genoa as Hector Cuper's side returned to winning ways to keep their salvation chances alive. Atalanta practically condemned bottom side Livorno to Serie B thanks to a last-minute goal from Simone Padoin. These two sides have never shared the spoils in 10 meetings in Bergamo. Atalanta lead with eight victories to two.

26 goals were scored on the 36th day. Foreigners contributed with 10 goals and there were only six first-half goals. Home teams managed six wins. There were no draws. Two players, Amauri (Palermo) and Nicola Amoruso (Reggina), grabbed a brace each to help their respective sides cruise to identical 2-1 away victories over Lazio and Catania respectively. Fausto Rossini (Livorno), Mario Santana (Fiorentina) and Jorge Martinez (Catania) came on as substitutes and scored. Marco Borriello (Genoa) and David Trezeguet (Juventus) still lead the scorers' list with 19 goals each.