Juve determined not to relax after victories

Antonio Conte has urged his Juventus players to keep up the intensity ahead of this weekend’s clash with Palermo to avoid wasting their recent winning form.

Juve were toiling recently when six draws in seven games saw them drop to four points behind Serie A leaders Milan.

But a 5-0 rout of Fiorentina set them back on the right track and Juve followed that up with crucial victories against Inter and Napoli.

That latest success closed the gap to champions Milan to just two points, but Conte is aware that Juve’s problems this season have not been with fellow giants.

Two wins against Inter, a win and a draw against both Milan and Napoli, a win away to Lazio and another at home to Udinese all show that Juve’s form against their closest rivals is very good.

But it is against the minnows that they have consistently slipped up, as 14 draws in 30 games illustrates.

Home and away draws against strugglers Bologna, Genoa and Chievo, not to mention home draws against Cagliari and Siena, are the main reasons Conte’s side are not top.

And the coach is adamant his team should not get carried away by their recent results and start thinking things will come easy.

“I’m afraid of relaxing now. We don’t want anyone’s intensity to drop,” he said.

“We still remember what happened against Chievo.”

Twice this season Juve have played Chievo immediately after acquiring an impressive result against Milan, only to fail to sparkle and drop points.

However, club captain Alessandro Del Piero is expecting the defeats of Inter and Napoli to increase confidence in the camp.

“The two wins in such difficult matches, that came one after another, should give us a huge boost to continue on our path,” he said.

Although they trail Milan, Juve did not have the distraction of a midweek Champions League match, while the Rossoneri played away to Barcelona where their European campaign ended.

It means the leaders may be battling fatigue against Fiorentina today, although they are playing the league’s most out-of-form team.

Three defeats and a draw in their last four games have seen Fiorentina slump to one place and five points off the relegation zone. Coach Delio Rossi’s job is also rumoured to be under threat.

Outside the battle for the title, there is an increasingly intriguing race for third place.

A vital clash in that scrap sees fourth-placed Napoli travel to Lazio, one place and three points above their visitors.

Udinese, who host Parma, and Roma, who travel to Lecce, are also in the hunt for that third place while Inter, who travel to Cagliari, could force themselves back into the mix if they put together a good run.

For Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin, it is an exciting period of the season.

“The race for third place is very open. The other teams fighting for it, Lazio, Napoli, Roma and Inter, are important teams,” said Guidolin.

“At the beginning of the season they will have been targeting a top-three finish. We’re with them and we feel proud, we’re there and if we qualify for Europe, I’ll hold a huge party.”

Fixtures

Serie A

Playing Today – 15.00
Atalanta vs Siena (2-2)
Cagliari vs Inter (1-2)
Cesena vs Bologna (1-0)
Chievo vs Catania (2-1)
Lazio vs Napoli (0-0) 21.00
Lecce vs Roma (1-2)
Milan vs Fiorentina (0-0)
Novara vs Genoa (0-1)
Palermo vs Juventus (0-3) 18.30
Udinese vs Parma (0-2)

Standings: Milan 64; Juventus 62; Lazio 51; Napoli, Udinese 48; Roma 47; Inter 44; Catania 43; Palermo, Chievo 39; Atalanta, Cagliari 37; Siena, Bologna 36; Parma 35; Genoa 34; Fiorentina 33; Lecce 28; Novara 24; Cesena 19.

Serie B

Played Yesterday
Ascoli vs AlbinoLeffe 1-0
Bari vs Grosseto 1-1
Brescia vs Verona 2-1
Cittadella vs Gubbio 2-1
Crotone vs Sampdoria 1-0
Livorno vs Padova 1-2
Nocerina vs Empoli 1-2
Sassuolo vs Modena 0-0
Torino vs Reggina 1-0
(suspended on 46 mins, waterlogged pitch)
Vicenza vs Juve Stabia 0-3

Standings: Torino 66; Sassuolo 64; Verona 63; Pescara 62; Padova 56; Varese 55; Brescia 53; Sampdoria 51; Reggina 47; Juve Stabia (-4), Bari (-4) 46; Grosseto 43; Modena, Cittadella 41; Crotone (-1) 40; Livorno 38; Em-poli 34; Ascoli (-7), Vicenza 32; No-cerina 28; Gubbio 27; AlbinoLeffe 25.