Serie A preview: Milan seek to extend advantage

AC Milan travel to struggling Catania on Saturday looking to keep their Serie A title rivals at bay with consecutive victories.

Milan remain four points clear of nearest rivals Napoli on top of the table following a 2-0 win over Cesena last Sunday, breaking a run of successive draws for Massimiliano Allegri’s side.

Now the red and blacks will aim to take three points off Catania, who have lost three of their past four league fixtures to remain mired in 16th place.

And they may have a couple of new faces to assist them in their quest, with new signings Mark van Bommel and Urby Emanuelson a chance to make their league debuts after coming through a midweek Coppa Italia win at Sampdoria unscathed.

Van Bommel joined Milan on a six-month contract from Bayern Munich, and Emanuelson moved to the San Siro from Dutch giants Ajax.

Catania have taken just 22 points from 21 league games this season and are a mere three points away from the drop zone.

Manager Marco Giampaolo was sacked following a 1-1 draw with Chievo and replaced by Diego Simeone.

The Argentine boss suffered a 2-0 defeat at Parma in his first outing with the club last Sunday.

Title hopefuls Lazio welcome Fiorentina to the capital in Saturday’s other fixture, with the hosts looking to rebound from a 3-1 loss to Bologna last time out.

That defeat saw Edy Reja’s men fall to fourth on the table, seven points adrift of Milan.

The 10th-placed Tuscan club have not lost at home since early October, a run of seven wins and one draw in all competitions over the past three months.

On Sunday, Inter Milan will look to bounce back from their first loss under manager Leonardo when they host Palermo at the San Siro.

Inter fell 3-1 at Udinese last Saturday, an abrupt end to their five-match winning streak in all competitions, and now look to resume their pursuit of bitter rivals Milan.

Second-placed Napoli, who were bundled out of the Coppa Italia in a penalty shootout loss to Inter on Wednesday, host Sampdoria at the Stadio San Paolo looking to build on last weekend’s 2-0 Serie A win at lowly Bari.

Juventus will have their work cut out at home to Udinese, who have gone undefeated in the league this month to rise to eighth.

Third-placed Roma will look to reduce the six-point gap separating them from Milan when they travel to Bologna, while Genoa will look to arrest their six-match winless run at home to Parma.

Relegation battlers Lecce and Cesena square off at the Stadio Comunale Via del Mare, and Cagliari host bottom-placed Bari.