Serie A Power Rankings: Round 20

A couple of upsets highlighted Round 20 of the Italian Serie A this weekend and at least for now, the race at the top is a two-horse bout, as two of the Top Four fell, putting them at least five points out of the two Champions League Group Stage positions.

A club on the brink of relegation was able to stun an opponent on the completely opposite side of the table, and a struggling mid-table side was able to continue the woes of a top side.

Given the results of this weekend, there are surely going to be teams climbing and falling in the power rankings this week.

20. Novara (20)

Round 20: Lost 2-0 vs. Palermo (A)

Novara's lack of quality in front of goal and Palermo's ability to capitalize when they got the space provided the difference at the weekend as the Serie B runner-ups continue to struggle in the top flight.

Samir Ujkani was only able to stop four of the six shots that challenged his net as Novara were unable to make the most of their slight advantage in possession.

Novara's woes continue. They have only two wins and have allowed 40 goals; both of those numbers are the worst in Serie A. In recent weeks, given Lecce's ability to put tough opponents in a difficult spot, Novara have looked like the weakest link in Serie A.

Round 21: 2/2 vs. Chievo Verona (H)

19. Cesena (19)

Round 20: Lost 1-0 vs. Atalanta (H)

Marco Rossi has no goals this season—well, at least in the right net.

Rossi put the ball in his own net with 14 minutes to play, and even after Atalanta went down to 10 men moments later, Cesena were unable to walk away with anything but hung heads this weekend.

It is just another thing that has gone wrong for the Seahorses this season as their woes continue. They are four points from safety, but safety does not appear to be in their future as relegation is looking more and more likely.

A miracle would be needed on Wednesday if they were to get the three points and stay in the hunt for safety, but it will be difficult to avoid Serie B for next season.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Napoli (A)

18. Siena (17)

Round 20: Lost 2-1 vs. Fiorentina (A)

The Tuscany Derby provided even more woe for Siena and they look to be in trouble.

Lecce were able to move within three points of Siena after the loss and that puts the Robur on the brink of the relegation zone, a place that they will be hoping to avoid as they will surely be hoping that their stint in Serie A lasts more than one season.

Emanuele Calaio was able to convert a penalty, his ninth goal of the season, in the 89th minute, but Siena were unable to stop the Viola on attack.

With Lecce's ability to test the giants (somehow), they have a chance to dig out of that relegation hole. Could Siena in fact be in relegation trouble?

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Catania (H)

17. Lecce (18)

Round 20: Won 1-0 vs. Inter (H)

It has been proven time and again in sports that the best team or the team that dominates the stat sheet may not necessarily win the game.

Lecce proved that on Sunday.

Lecce had the ball only 37 percent of the time and only took six shots, putting half of them on net, but Guillermo Giacomazzi needed only one to give the lowly Wolves an important victory over Inter Milan.

Lecce took it to a high-flying team that until losing to Napoli earlier in the week in Coppa Italia, looked near unbeatable recently.

Lecce are familiar with challenging the big boys. Juventus struggled to a victory a couple weeks ago, and AC Milan were down 3-0 at halftime before winning 4-3.

Lecce move three points from safety and need to keep playing competitively to assure safety, which has seemed unlikely since the preseason.

Good news for Lecce is the acquisition of an old friend, Valeri Bojinov,, who joins from Sporting Clube de Portugal, could provide a strong attacking option.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Udinese (A)

16. Bologna (16)

Round 20: Drew 1-1 vs. Roma (A)

Marco Di Vaio and Jean Francois Gillet were the heroes for Bologna as they were dominated by Roma, but still managed a point in the capital.

Di Vaio put Bologna up 1-0 in the 56th minute, but the lead was short lived as Roma scored six minutes later.

Despite the goal, Gillet stopped seven shots and kept Roma at bay.

Despite a solid point for Bologna, they're still uncomfortably close to the drop zone, only five points ahead of Lecce. They have to tread carefully.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Fiorentina (H)

15. Parma (15)

Round 20: Drew 1-1 vs. Catania (A)

Parma picked up a point against a tough Catania side at the Angelo Massimino.

The Crusaders put only one shot on goal, but that was enough as Francesco Modesto beat the keeper to nullify a Catania goal 10 minutes prior to the equalizer.

The rest of the game was just a 50-50 possession battle. Only four shots challenged the keepers all game. Modesto put Parma's one shot on goal in the back of the net, and Nicola Pavarini stopped two of Catania's three.

A tough test at the midweek for Parma, but fans will be looking back to last season and Sebastian Giovinco's wonder goal against his old club and hope that this season's home match is just as satisfying as last time.

Round 21: 1/31 vs. Juventus (H)

14. Chievo Verona (13)

Round 20: Lost 3-0 vs. Lazio (H)

Two late goals put the game beyond Chievo's reach as they fell to Lazio at the Bentegodi.

Chievo had the possession advantage slightly, but their four shots were parried, and they were unable to threaten Lazio at all as they were eventually punished for being the inferior team.

Chievo are looking at cracking the top half of the table, which is not impossible. Not every game is against one of the Top-Five teams in the league like this weekend was.

Round 21: 2/2 vs. Novara (A)

13. Cagliari (10)

Round 20: Lost 3-0 vs. AC Milan (A)

Cagliari were dominated from start to finish as they fell farther down the table.

They kept possession close against Milan, known to be one of the best possession teams in the game, but they were shut down otherwise.

Cagliari's attack let off 11 attempts at goal, but none of them were even on target. It was overall a miserable day for the Sardinians.

Making matters worse is the future of Radja Nainggolan hanging in the balance as Juventus have expressed heavy interest, and several other clubs have contacted the club. With Tuesday being deadline day, Nainggolan could possibly have just played his last game with Cagliari.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Roma (H)

12. Fiorentina (14)

Round 20: Won 2-1 vs. Siena (H)

Fiorentina picked up a simple three points at the weekend with Artur Boruc only being prevented from a clean sheet by an 89th-minute penalty kick.

Stevan Jovetic continued his fantastic season with his 10th goal of the year four minutes in, and Cesare Natali scored in Serie A for the first time since the 2008-09 season when he was with Torino.

Fiorentina sit 10th and while they are 10 points away from a European spot, they will more than likely provide a challenge to the competitors the rest of the way.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Bologna (A)

11. Catania (11)

Round 20: Drew 1-1 vs. Parma (H)

With the thin gap between clubs in the middle of the table, Catania dropped out of the top half this weekend as they drew with Parma at home.

Gonzalo Bergessio got the Elephants going past midway in the first half as he scored in the 33rd minute for his fourth of the year, but the defense could not keep Parma from equalizing before halftime.

Despite the goal, credit has to be given to Catania as it was the only shot on goal allowed all game.

It was a match worthy of a draw; 50-50 possession and four total shots on goal usually means such a result.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Siena (A)

10. Genoa (10)

Round 20: Won 3-2 vs. Napoli (H)

Genoa made a statement with their win at the weekend against a very good Napoli side.

Rodrigo Palacio netted two goals and Alberto Gilardino scored his first for his new club in the 3-2 victory, as the game was done and dusted by the time Napoli picked up their two goals within two minutes.

Napoli were the better team with the better possession and the better chances, but Sebastian Frey blocked three shots and they were never able to get back into the game.

Genoa are now ninth and eight points out of a European spot. With so much football to play, anything is possible, but it is highly unlikely that Genoa will make a fight of it for a spot.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Atalanta (A)

9. Napoli (7)

Round 20: Lost 3-2 vs. Genoa (A)

With two wins in their last seven, Napoli look dreadful of late and have been unable to get results against teams that they should have beaten.

Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi pulled Napoli within a goal with eight minutes to play, but Genoa were always going to win that game at the Luigi Ferraris.

Napoli need to turn these misfortunes around. They are playing awful as of late and could miss out on Europe if they keep this up. If Walter Mazzarri values his job, he'll turn it around.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Cesena (H)

8. Palermo (9)

Round 20: Won 2-0 vs. Novara (H)

Igor Budan had himself a nice day, scoring twice as Palermo knocked off Novara 2-0 at the Renzo Barbera.

Palermo are climbing out of that recent hole and are currently eighth on the table, but those nine losses still hurt.

They are going to have to keep playing the way they have in the past couple of matches if they want to stay in contention for Europe.

The defense played well against Novara, allowing only two shots on goal, both of which were repelled by Emiliano Viviano.

Palermo need to keep getting the results. This is a team that in recent years has been competitive and they need to stay that way. Not having Javier Pastore anymore can't be an excuse.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Inter Milan (A)

7. Atalanta (8)

Round 20: Won 1-0 vs. Cesena (A)

It was an unconventional win for Atalanta, but a win all the same.

An own goal in the 76th minute gave La Dea the lead, and they would hold the lead even after top scorer German Denis was sent off in the 79th minute after a second yellow card.

Again it seems right to remind people that while Atalanta are 14th in the table, they are high on here because these rankings do not take into account the six-point deduction from a match-fixing scandal involving a former player while in Serie B.

The next match may be tough without Denis, but Atalanta can handle it.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Genoa (H)

6. Roma (5)

Round 20: Drew 1-1 vs. Bologna (H)

A draw at the Olimpico against Bologna was the last thing Roma wanted to have happen.

Miralem Pjanic equalized for Roma in the 62nd minute after Bologna were able to beat Maarten Stekelenburg six minutes before.

Maybe it was a bit of misfortune for Roma. They put eight shots on frame but were stopped seven times thanks to a fantastic goalkeeping performance by Jean Francois Gillet of Bologna.

Roma are now a full three points behind Roma and could have gotten within one with Inter's loss. They could very well regret this slip up.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Cagliari (A)

5. Inter Milan (3)

Round 20: Lost 1-0 vs. Lecce (A)

Inter had been on fire until this past week.

After several dominating performances dating back to December and including a great victory in the Milan Derby, Inter were kicked out of Coppa Italia by Napoli and then went to Lecce at the weekend, fully expecting three points but ended up leaving with none.

Inter went down 1-0 just before halftime and there was no going back, despite dominating possession and the shot count.

It just goes to show that the best team doesn't always win. Inter have been a character in several games lately that have been decided by a stroke of fate or a bit of luck. They took the most of their opportunity in a game that Milan controlled a couple weeks ago. Lecce did the same to them this past weekend.

Inter have a couple tough tests waiting over the next week, but they will be looking to recover.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Palermo (H)

4. Udinese (4)

Round 20: Lost 2-1 vs. Juventus (A)

No reason to punish Udinese for their loss at the weekend against the table-toppers. Juventus are undefeated this season, and at home very few teams are better.

Antonio Floro Flores scored to level the match at one but the tie would last only six minutes as Juventus scored the match-winner in the 62nd minute.

A small bump in the road, but Udinese need to keep getting results as Lazio are right on their tails. The black and white don't want another season of Europa League football.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Lecce (H)

3. Lazio (6)

Round 20: Won 3-0 vs. Chievo Verona (A)

Hernanes got the Eagles out in front 21 minutes in at the Bentgodi, and then Miroslav Klose scored in both the 88th and 89th minutes to seal a 3-0 win for Lazio over the Flying Donkeys.

Lazio continue to play impressive football and are right on the heels of Udinese as the race for the Champions League is wide open.

Watching both Udinese and Lazio, it looks like Lazio have a bit more fire power and could easily overcome the two-point gap soon and put themselves in position to even press Juventus and Milan in the race for the Scudetto.

It's anybody's title right now and that includes Lazio.

They can make a statement for their intentions with a big win on Wednesday.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Milan (H)

2. AC Milan (2)

Round 20: Won 3-0 vs. Cagliari (H)

Milan were fantastic in their thrashing of Cagliari, in which they once again got balanced scoring from around the pitch.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved into first place all by himself in the race for the Italian scoring title with his 15th of the season. Milan's second leading scorer Antonio Nocerino notched his seventh of the year, and Massimo Ambrosini surprisingly found the net for the first time this year.

The story for Milan is the great play of Ibrahimovic and Nocerino. The two have become quite the dynamic duo. They have combined for 22 of the 43 league goals, and Milan have won all four matches in which both score.

Milan will be relying on them to keep up their hot form as they look to overtake Juventus, who sit only one point ahead.

Round 21: 2/1 vs. Lazio (A)

1. Juventus (1)

Round 20: Won 2-1 vs. Udinese (H)

The Juventus Arena has been the toughest place to play for any club this year, and that has helped Juventus jump out to an unbeaten run that spans the first 20 matches of the season.

Alessandro Matri put Juventus ahead against Udinese just before halftime and then broke a 1-1 deadlock just after the hour mark. It was all Juve would need to put down the visitors.

Antonio Conte's men may be undefeated, but they are nowhere near clear in the run for the title. Milan are only a point back, and Udinese and Lazio are both in the rear-view mirror edging closer and closer.

Juventus have a lot of work to do to reclaim the Scudetto for the first time in years.

Round 21: 1/31 vs. Parma (A)