Juventus Faces Hot Verona Club; Lazio Has Easier Stretch
Posted: Thursday April 27, 2000 03:39 PM
ROME (AP) -- Five-points-up, three-to-play would hardly seem a must-win situation.
Don't tell that to Carlo Ancelotti.
Traveling to face a hot Verona club, the no-nonsense Juventus coach doesn't want his troops thinking about a draw.
"We're playing for the win," Ancelotti told reporters earlier this week. "We must not give confidence and conviction to Lazio, which could earn nine points in the final three matches."
The Turin squad's first-year coach noted not only Verona's run of 12 games without a loss, but also the eight-game undefeated streak of Juventus's next opponent, AC Parma.
"We must keep our concentration through the very last round," Ancelotti said after last Saturday's 1-0 Juventus win over Fiorentina.
Juventus' final game is on the road against Perugia.
Second-place Lazio has an easier final stretch, hosting an already demoted Venezia, traveling to Bologna, and concluding at home against Reggina.
Thanks to Alessandro Del Piero's penalty shot, Juventus (20-8-3) now stands at 68 points. Lazio (18-9-4) continues to trail by five points, following its 2-0 win over Piacenza.
Filippo Inzaghi, the Turin squad's leading scorer who has spent much of the past three games on the bench, is likely to start against Verona on Sunday.
Though it only managed a 2-2 draw last week at Venezia, Verona hasn't lost since January 30, and will likely be playing for the win as well, having moved safely away from relegation contention.
Lazio should have an easy time with Venezia, although the Rome club will have to hope that its long list of South American players will be ready after this week's World Cup qualifying matches back at home.
Another closely watched matchup will be AC Parma hosting Udinese, as the two squads fight it out for spots in next year's European cup tournaments.
The rest of the lineup for Sunday afternoon is Bari vs. AS Roma, Cagliari vs. Bologna, Fiorentina vs. Lecce, AC Milan vs. Piacenza, Perugia vs. Internazionale and Torino vs. Reggina.
