Milan: Juventus travel to bitter rivals Inter Milan on Saturday, hoping Andrea Stramaccioni's team doesn't spoil its Serie A title chances as it almost did in November. Inter won 3-1 to end Juventus' 49-match unbeaten run, just as it seemed Antonio Conte's side was closing in on AC Milan's record of 58 matches without defeat.
That match remains one of Stramaccioni's top three memories of his year in charge at Inter. The two sides have had differing fortunes since then. Inter have won only five of their league games since to slip to sixth, while Juventus are now on a seemingly inexorable march towards a 29th title. They are nine points ahead of second-place Napoli, who play Torino and can't afford to lose touch with the leader.
Elsewhere, Mario Balotelli looks to continue his scoring run when AC Milan travel to Chievo Verona. The Italy striker scored three times in two matches during the international break to take his tally to 10 goals in nine games for club and country in 2013.
Stramaccioni took charge of Inter a year ago, replacing Claudio Ranieri following a loss at Juventus. Defeat is unlikely to spell the same fate for the young tactician, but he knows how important victory in the match known as the Derby d'Italia - Italy's derby - would be.
"For us it is absolutely not just a game like any other, both because of the importance for the standings and because it means so much to us," Stramaccioni said. "We'll tackle it giving even more than our all, giving 101 per cent. We're going to work hard and be ready for kick-off in a full San Siro."
Inter are seven points off third place and the final Champions League berth - although they have a game in hand on their rivals. However, there were signs of improvement in their last match, a 4-1 victory over Tottenham, despite their exit from the Europa League on away goals.
"We won at Juventus and we hope to repeat that result," defender Andrea Ranocchia said. "We should take an example from our performance against Tottenham, when we moved as one.
"We'll fight to the end for a place in the Champions League. It'll be tough because there are so many teams in this race, but we're there too."
Conte will have to juggle his squad with a tough visit to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal three days later, but the players have their minds firmly focused on the match at San Siro.
"It's the Derby d'Italia and I think it'll be a tough game," midfielder Arturo Vidal said. "They need a good result against us to improve their league standing. They're fighting for a place in the Champions League next season and there is a lot of competition.
"Much like a final, the match will be a fight 'to the death.'"
Napoli know that if Juventus win, defeat against city rivals Torino will mean their slim title hopes would be realistically over as they would be 15 points behind with eight rounds left.
A run of five league games without a win - which was ended with a 3-2 victory against Atalanta in their last match - left Napoli worrying more about losing second place than catching Juventus.
"It's a really important game at Torino and we have to give our all to continue on this positive path after victory against Atalanta," striker Lorenzo Insigne said. "We are a united group and we want to stay at the top of the league.
"At the moment we're second, Milan are behind us along with other very strong teams. But we're in front and we will do everything to stay there. Getting into the Champions League is a great goal and a very important target for all of us."
Milan are just two points behind Napoli and are yet to lose a league game in 2013. Fiorentina are also in the race, three points further back. They travel to Cagliari in a match which is set to be played in an empty stadium due to ongoing problems at Is Arenas.
At the other end of the table, Genoa host Siena with both in a relegation battle. Genoa are a point above their opponents, who are in the drop zone. Palermo and Pescara are both five points below Genoa, and they play Roma and Parma respectively. Roma captain Francesco Totti is celebrating 20 years in Serie A.
Elsewhere, it's: Atalanta vs. Sampdoria; Lazio vs. Catania; and Udinese vs. Bologna.
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