Parma travel to the Stadio Gervez on the final day of Serie A knowing that they must beat Atalanta on Sunday to ensure survival in the top flight. Atalanta has already secured third place and Champions League qualification, but still has a big say in the relegation issue.

For Parma, the situation is simple: if they win on Sunday, they will play in Serie A again next season. If Christian Chivu's team fails to achieve this, they will still be safe as long as there is no repeat of last week's scenes, where Empoli and Lecce won dramatically on the penultimate weekend. There is still a surprising situation where all four clubs finish with 34 points, and considering that who will be relegated in this case will be decided by play-offs, the head-to-head record between Empoli, Lecce, Parma and Verona means that the latter two teams will enter the play-offs.

Before Matchday 37, Parma thought a point against league leaders Napoli would be enough to avoid relegation, and it was, but it was heartbreaking to see Lecce and Empoli, who were below them, both win, meaning Parma's relegation battle will go to the final day. Another tough game is coming up, but after a 0-0 draw with Napoli last week, Parma has lost only one of seven games against teams in the top half since Chivu took over as head coach. Away form is a huge worry, however, as Crociati have only won once away from home all season, but Chivu has also played a positive role in this regard, as the visitors have only lost one of their last five away games.

Atalanta has proven itself to be a strong opponent recently, with the two teams meeting seven times in a row in Serie A, with an aggregate score of 24-5. Fiorentina has never won eight consecutive games against a single opponent in Serie A history, but four consecutive wins without conceding a goal against Parma at home is already a club record. Just when it seemed like nothing more could be done, Gian Piero Gasperini guided Atalanta to the best ever Serie A result, securing the team’s third place on 74 points on the final day, meaning they qualified for the Champions League for the fifth time in seven seasons.

They may have some regrets for having lost three league games in a row less than two months ago, most recently at home to Lecce, as had they won one of those four games they would still be in contention for the title this weekend. However, Atalanta returned to form towards the end of the season, with three consecutive wins over Monza, Roma and Genoa, scoring a total of nine goals, and another win here would have them equal their highest number of wins in a single season (23). Beating the bottom nine teams has been La Dea’s strength this season, and they have picked up 43 of their 51 points against such teams this season, which should give them extra confidence going into this match.

Atlanta's predicted starting lineup:

Carnesecchi; Cosunu, Gymsiti, De Roone; Bellanova, Sulemana, Ederson, Zappacosta; De Cotrare, Retegui, Lookman

Parma's predicted starting lineup:

Suzuki; Ballo, Leoni, Valenti; Del Prato, Ondreca, Keita, Som, Valeri; Bonny Pellegrino