Last weekend, Inter spurned a golden opportunity to increase their lead at the top of the Serie A to six points.

Following the stalemate between Roma and Milan at the Stadio Olimpico 24 hours earlier, the champions failed to profit as they were held to a draw by Genoa (0-0).

Inter have a four-point cushion over Milan at present and lead third-placed Roma by seven points. Jose Mourinho's side are scheduled to meet Roma in the capital later this month.

Inter are still the pundits' favourites to land their fifth title in succession but to do so, they need to start winning again.

Apart from this three-horse title race, a highly-contested battle for the fourth and final Champions League berth is also gaining momentum. Palermo, Juventus, Sampdoria and Napoli are all vying for that lucrative spot.

Until December, Juve looked a safe bet to play Champions League football next season as they were still involved in the title race. But then, the Bianconeri floundered and not only dropped out of the reckoning at home and abroad, but they also slipped to fifth place in Serie A and went through a coaching change with Alberto Zaccheroni coming on for the sacked Ciro Ferrara.

Juve's presence in the 2010-11 Champions League is still in the balance. They have 44 points following a hard-earned 2-1 win at Fiorentina but are still two below fourth-placed Palermo and one clear of Sampdoria and three ahead of Napoli.

With 33 points up for grabs, the race is still wide open.

Juventus have struggled for consistency this season and looked very shaky in defence.

Unlike their three direct rivals, Juventus have also been erratic at home as they lost five times in Turin. Palermo, Samp and Napoli, along with Inter, are still unbeaten at home.

It is only thanks to their improving away form that Juventus are still in contention.

Contrary to Palermo (three), Sampdoria (four) and Napoli (four), Juve so far recorded seven wins on the road. Only Inter, Milan and Juventus have won seven away games this season.

This record is encouraging for the Old Lady because Juve's remaining away fixtures include back-to-back trips to Sampdoria and Napoli, besides awkward games at Udinese, Inter, Catania and Milan.

Unlike the other three challengers for the fourth spot, Juve are still involved in the Europa League - the club's last hope of some silverware this season.

Tomorrow, they host Roy Hodgson's Fulham in the Last 16 of the competition.

Juventus may look vulnerable in home games but the same cannot be said of Palermo. Delio Rossi's team have won all their last seven matches at their Renzo Barbera stadium.

Since the ex-Lazio mentor took over from Walter Zenga on the 14th day, Palermo have been firing on all cylinders. The Sicilians have won nine games under Rossi, including significant away wins at Milan and Juventus, drew two and lost three.

Sampdoria were off to a flying start but experienced a notable dip as the season moved on.

At one stage, Samp held second place behind Inter. However, one win in 11 games pushed Sampdoria down to mid-table. Eventually, they did manage to halt their side.

Luigi Del Neri's side have been in top form lately as they have chalked up 16 points from their last seven outings.

By stark contrast, Napoli stuttered badly. The southerners were undefeated in their first 15 games under coach Walter Mazzarri but in their last six outings, Napoli had four draws, including three 0-0 results. The fans are fearing that the team is now running out of steam.

Mazzarri recently admitted that Napoli have been involved in far too many draws to be considered as genuine contenders for European qualification.

Napoli's cause has been hampered by the absence of a world-class finisher. Ezequiel Lavezzi (three goals), German Denis (four) and Fabio Quagliarella (seven) have failed to deliver on a regular basis, meaning that Napoli had to rely heavily on the form of midfielders Marek Hamsik (nine goals) and Christian Maggio (five).

The season has now entered the final and most difficult part. Many issues are still undecided at both ends of the standings.

As always, the secret of success is consistency. Many factors, like injuries and suspensions, may also play a part but the team that hit peak form and stay consistent is now likely to prevail.

Serie A statistics

1 penalty scored and one went off-target last weekend. Giuseppe Mascara ably converted a 31st-minute penalty in Catania's 2-2 draw away at Cagliari. Elsewhere, Massimo Donati could have doubled Bari's lead in stoppage time. However, his spot-kick was blocked by Chievo's Stefano Sorrentino.

2nd successive draw for third-placed Roma as the Giallorossi could not go beyond a 0-0 draw at home against Milan. For Claudio Ranieri's side this was their 17th straight positive result (12 wins and five draws). For the Rossoneri the outcome was their third draw in their last six unbeaten games.

3 valuable points collected by back-to-form Bari after four defeats. On Sunday, the southerners rose to the occasion and overcame Chievo to edge closer to safety. For the Verona-based outfit this was their first reverse after back-to-back wins over Atalanta (1-0) and Cagliari (2-1).

4 points still separate long-time leaders Inter from nearest pursuers Milan as the Nerazzurri failed to make home soil count in a 0-0 draw with Genoa. This was Inter's 12th successive unbeaten game (six wins and six draws) and their third goalless draw (the previous two against Napoli and Sampdoria) in their last four games.

5 points separate bottom side Siena from fourth-from-bottom Lazio. The Tuscany side blew away an ideal opportunity to bridge the gap as they could only salvage a 1-1 home draw with Parma. Siena are currently on a four-match positive run (two wins and two draws). Their only two home wins so far came against Catania (3-2) and Udinese (2-1) in successive weekends in December.

6 winless games in a row (four draws and two defeats) have seen Napoli slipping to seventh place. On Sunday, Napoli conceded two early Bologna goals to suffer their second defeat in their last three games on the road. For Bologna, this was their third win in their last four games.

17 goals were scored on the 27th day: 10 coming from the hosts and the remaining seven from the visitors, who managed only one win. Foreigners contributed with six goals while there were 13 first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 680. Two players - Fabio Grosso (Juventus) and Andrea Cossu (Cagliari) - came on as substitutes and scored. Udinese and Italy striker Antonio Di Natale is still the leading marksman with 19 goals, four clear of second-placed Diego Milito, of Inter.