Only a few weeks remain in the Italian league, and with Napoli having all but secured their title, the race for European qualification is on.
The Teams
Napoli
Napoli have already confirmed their qualification in next season’s Champions League, only needing one more point to effectively win the title.
Lazio
Lazio currently sits in second place with 61 points. They have six games still to play, but only one of them is a threatening matchup. Lazio will play Sassuolo, Milan, Lecce, Udinese, Cremonese, and Empoli. Winning just three of these final six games should be enough for Champions League soccer next year.
Playing away from AC Milan will be a test for them, but Milan has the Champions League to think about as well. Lazio have put themself in a wonderful position to finish in the top four this season, and barring a horrible end to the season they should see it out.
Juventus
Earlier in the year Juventus were hit with a 15-point deduction and any hope of European qualification seemed lost. Just weeks ago that deduction was reversed and the former champions find themselves back in third place, just a single point off of Lazio.
Juventus have a similar schedule to Lazio, still yet to play Lecce, Udinese, Cremonese, and Empoli. In a tougher run of games however, they also have to face Atlanta and AC Milan, as well as two Europa League semi-final games against Sevilla.
If ‘the old lady’ want to play in the Champions League again next season, they will need to pick up positive results in at least four of their final six league games.
Inter Milan
The final team currently in a position to qualify for the Champions League is Inter Milan. Having won the league title two seasons ago, they have struggled domestically since and will need to finish the season strong to continue in the Champions League for another year.
On top of two Champions League semi-final legs to be played against cross-town rivals AC Milan, Inter also faces Napoli, Roma, and Atlanta in the league. Inter, AC Milan and Roma are all currently level on points, which means these three matches will ultimately decide Inter’s fate.
A loss in even one of them and a good run of form from each of the teams below Inter could see them fail to qualify for any European competition next season. Their easier matches include Sassuolo, Hellas Verona, and Torino, and they also have the Coppa Italia final to play against Fiorentina. Inter sit in a good position if they are able to pull off results in the final weeks, but face a demanding schedule to end the season.
AC Milan
AC Milan is in a very similar situation to Inter Milan, in part due to their Champions League matchup breaking up their league play. Milan will play Cremonese, Lazio, Spezia, Sampdoria, Juventus, and Hellas Verona before the season closes.
Level on points with Inter they trail them on goal differential so not only is it crucial for them to win each of their remaining games, but scoring as many goals as possible could be the difference between European soccer or not next year.
In order to qualify for the Champions League, ‘El Rossoneri’ would need one of the three teams above them to falter in their matchups, allowing the 7-time European champions to compete in the elite tournament once again.
Roma
In just two years in Rome, Jose Mourinho has won the European Conference League, is still competing to win this year’s Europa League, and has put Roma in a position to try and qualify for the Champions League.
Roma is level on points and goal differential with AC Milan, meaning both sides need the teams above them to lose if they want to finish in the top four. Roma’s remaining fixtures consist of Monza, Inter, Bologna, Salernitana, Fiorentina, and Spezia. In the middle of these games, Mourinho’s side will also face Bayer Leverkusen twice in the Europa League.
The key game amongst these is the matchup with Inter Milan. A win over Inter Milan would be massive in Roma’s push for the Champions League, and crucial to ensuring they play some form of European competition in the upcoming season.
Atlanta
Atlanta is the only team currently not in a qualifying spot that is still very much in the race for any of them. They currently sit in 7th place, with 55 points. This puts them within a game of Conference Leauge and Europa League qualification, and only five points away from the Champions League.
They have to face Spezia, Juventus, Salernitana, Hellas Verona, Inter, and Monza. Atlanta will realistically need to win all of these games, but most importantly the matchups with Inter and Juventus to strip points off of them.
If just one of the three teams above Atlanata is to not pull off all their results, the door opens wide for Atlanta to make a late-season comeback.
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