Fiorentina faces crucial Roma test

Soccer Betting Lines

04/24/2009 - Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The race for fourth place continues to heat up in Serie A on Saturday as fifth-placed Fiorentina hosts sixth-placed Roma in a match that will go a long way towards determining the fates of the two teams.

Genoa currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League spot, but both Fiorentina and Roma are within striking distance and could overcome Genoa with a strong final push over the remaining six games.

Roma was able to close the gap on both sides last weekend as they downed Lecce 3-2, while Fiorentina's three-game win streak was snapped at the hands of Udinese in 3-1 fashion.

Genoa also suffered a 1-0 loss to Lazio, which has allowed Luciano Spalletti's men to close to within five points and revive their top-four hopes.

Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino leads his club with 16 goals in league play, and the former AC Milan man is well aware of how important Saturday's match is.

"The race (for the Champions League) is as important as any other," Gilardino said. "With three points we could stretch our lead over Roma and we are determined to do that.

"We're ready to fight for the game and the result. We're playing in front of our own fans and we want to do well.

"It will be difficult. In recent years Roma are a team who have always delivered the best football."

"But I hope it will be an entertaining match with many chances in front of goal."

Gilardino is likely to get his wish concerning goal opportunities because Roma has allowed the fifth most goals in the league, while both clubs rank in the top seven in goals scored.

Fiorentina will be missing one of its big weapons with the absence of Adrian Mutu, while Mario Santana and Massimo Gobbi are also out injured. Felipe Melo is out through suspension.

Spalletti has a few more injury issues to contend with as Cicinho, Alberto Aquilani, Mirko Vucinic, Vincenzo Montella, Jeremy Menez and Doni are all out because of injury while Philippe Mexes is banned.

Inter Milan looks well on its way to claiming another Scudetto and the Nerazzurri takes its 10-point lead atop the table to Napoli, while second- placed AC Milan entertains Palermo, and Juventus visits last-placed Reggina.

Genoa hopes to rebound with a win at relegation-battling Bologna, Udinese invades Chievo, Siena squares off with Torino, Atalanta meets up with Lazio, Cagliari hits the road to face Sampdoria and Lecce hosts Catania.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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