The race for a Champions League spot in Serie A is getting wild and currently sees four teams divided by just one point.
The 1-1 draw between Bologna and Juventus on Sunday means that Roma and Lazio are now level on points with the Bianconeri, while the Rossoblu are just one point below the top four, but Fiorentina and Milan can still hope.
The race for a Champions League spot in Serie A is getting wild and currently sees four teams divided by just one point.
Third-placed Atalanta have a decent advantage over the other candidates with 68 points, five above the fourth spot.
Juventus, Roma and Lazio have 63 points after Round 35, while Bologna have 62.
How the Champions League spot is decided
Fiorentina lost against Roma today, but still have 59 points, so they are still technically in the race for a Champions League placement.
Milan sit ninth with 54 points but the Rossoneri have one game in hand. This means that if they beat Genoa away on Monday, they will go six points below the top four with three games remaining. A challenging task, but technically still possible.
If two clubs finish level on points, the head-to-head record is the first criteria for dividing the teams, but with three games remaining, four for Milan, anything can still happen.
Serie A Round 36 will see three more crucial games in the race for that Champions League spot: Milan vs. Bologna, Lazio vs. Juventus and Atalanta vs. Roma.
Head-to-head record for Champions League qualification
Juventus
Advantage over Milan and (so far) Lazio
Level with Roma and Bologna
Disadvantage with Atalanta and Fiorentina
Bologna
Advantage over Lazio, Roma, (so far) Milan and Fiorentina
Level with Juventus
Disadvantage with Atalanta
Lazio
Advantage over Milan and Atalanta
Level with none
Disadvantage with Fiorentina, Bologna, Roma and (so far) Juventus
Roma
Advantage over Lazio
Level with Juventus, Fiorentina and (so far) Milan
Disadvantage with (so far) Atalanta
Fiorentina
Advantage over Juventus, Lazio and Milan
Level with Atalanta and Roma
Disadvantage with (so far) Bologna
| Rank | Teams | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Napoli | 38 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 32 | 82 |
| 2 | Inter | 38 | 24 | 9 | 5 | 44 | 81 |
| 3 | Atalanta | 38 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 41 | 74 |
| 4 | Juventus | 38 | 18 | 16 | 4 | 23 | 70 |
| 5 | Roma | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 69 |
| 6 | Fiorentina | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 65 |
| 7 | Lazio | 38 | 18 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 65 |
| 8 | Milan | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 63 |
| 9 | Bologna | 38 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 62 |
| 10 | Como | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | -3 | 49 |
| 11 | Torino | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | -6 | 44 |
| 12 | Udinese | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | -15 | 44 |
| 13 | Genoa | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | -12 | 43 |
| 14 | Verona | 38 | 10 | 7 | 21 | -32 | 37 |
| 15 | Parma | 38 | 7 | 15 | 16 | -14 | 36 |
| 16 | Cagliari | 38 | 9 | 9 | 20 | -16 | 36 |
| 17 | Lecce | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | -31 | 34 |
| 18 | Empoli | 38 | 6 | 13 | 19 | -26 | 31 |
| 19 | Venezia | 38 | 5 | 14 | 19 | -24 | 29 |
| 20 | Monza | 38 | 3 | 9 | 26 | -41 | 18 |
Manager of the season will surely go to Conte – especially if he wins Serie A with a team that was so despondent and failing and lost their best players last season and Kavara half way through this season. But Ranieri at Roma should also be manager of the year after what he has done at Roma with an even ‘worse’ squad. Roma are potentially in the CL yet when Ranieri took charge they were potentially in Serie B.