Juventus aim for third place in Serie A

Juventus midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic (R) celebrates his winning goal in a victory over AC Milan.

Juventus midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic is fired up for Wednesday's home encounter against Parma with his team looking to consolidate third place in the Serie A standings.


Salihamidzic is still excited at having stolen the limelight last weekend when he was instrumental in Juve's 3-2 triumph against AC Milan.


The Bosnia international, who struck twice against the Rossoneri to earn the Turin giants three valuable points, is determined to continue his impressive form.


Wednesday's game was scheduled to be played last month but was postponed following the death of a Parma fan who was on his way to the stadium to watch the match.


"It's not easy to score in Serie A," admitted Salihamidzic.


"I have now scored four times and I hope I will get a chance to score more goals before the end of the season.


"It's always nice to score and win a game against Milan. The most important thing is always the victory."


The outcome allowed Claudio Ranieri's side to climb four points clear of fourth-placed Fiorentina with six games remaining.


"We have to focus on one game at a time," said Salihamidzic.


"On Wednesday we face a difficult game against Parma. It will be important to win this encounter in order to achieve our aim, which is to qualify for the Champions League next season.


"We only have to look at the teams that are ahead of us in the standings, not the ones that are behind us."


Rivals Parma travel to Turin's Stadio Olimpico looking to ease their relegation concerns.


The Gialloblu are just one point above the drop zone, but face a challenging task in Turin having yet to win away this season.


Consecutive draws against Lazio and Empoli have allowed the Ducale outfit to remain just above the bottom three, but coach Hector Cuper knows his team must do better if they wish to avoid the drop.


"We simply have to improve and continue to work hard with character and personality," Cuper said.


"I wasn´t happy with our draw at Empoli because we gave away two points. We have to be able to stay in control when we are in front and right now we struggle to kill a game off when we have the chances to do so.


"I think if we can improve on those aspects we will be able to defend our Serie A status.


"But against Juventus we will have to play a very good game if we want to get a positive result."


With games against Fiorentina and Internazionale still awaiting Parma before the end of the campaign, the Gialloblu will be desperate to get at least a point in Turin.


The good news for the visitors is that striker Cristiano Lucarelli will be available to play having regained his form. However, former Juve defender Massimo Paci will serve a one-match ban.


The Bianconeri will have to do without Mohamed Sissoko as well as injured duo Cristiano Zanetti and Jonathan Zebina.