Juventus looks to win against bitter rival Inter

MILAN (AP) — Juventus travels to bitter rival Inter Milan on Saturday, hoping Andrea Stramaccioni's team doesn't spoil its Serie A title chances as it did its unbeaten record 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 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 has won only five of its league games since to slip to sixth, while Juventus is now on a seemingly inexorable march toward a 29th title. It is nine points ahead of second-place Napoli, which plays Torino and can't afford to lose touch with the leader.

Elsewhere, Mario Balotelli looks to continue his scoring run when AC Milan travels 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 is seven points off third place and the final Champions League berth — although it has a game in hand on its rivals. However, there were signs of improvement in its last match, a 4-1 victory over Tottenham, despite its 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 knows that if Juventus win, defeat against city rival Torino will mean its slim title hopes would be realistically over as it 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 its 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 is 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 is just two points behind Napoli and is yet to lose a league game in 2013.

Fiorentina is also in the race, three points further back. It travels 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 hosts Siena with both in a relegation battle. Genoa is a point above its opponent, who is 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.