Claudio Ranieri is confident Inter Milan's players can make life difficult for his former club Juventus when the two sides meet at the San Siro on Saturday. Last season's runners-up Inter have struggled in attack and defence and head into the contest with just two wins from eight games. Inter were held to a 1-1 draw at Atalanta on Wednesday and are 16th in the standings, just two points above the relegation zone.
"I would be lying if I said that I was happy with the point taken at Atalanta," Inter manager Ranieri told his club's official website. "But I am certain we will face Juventus with the right spirit.” They are in good form and this will be a good test for us." Ranieri guided Juventus for two seasons before being sacked in May 2009. He then had successful spells with Parma and Roma.
Juventus, coached by Antonio Conte, beat Fiorentina 2-1 on Tuesday to take over sole leadership of Serie A. The Turin giants are the only unbeaten side in the league and have an eight-point advantage over Inter. Udinese and Lazio trail Juventus by a point after disappointing midweek results.
Lazio were held to a 1-1 home draw by Catania while Udinese conceded their first defeat of the campaign, a 2-0 loss at Napoli. Lazio travel to Sardinia this weekend to face Cagliari while Udinese take on Palermo at the Friuli stadium, having won all of their home games so far. Defending champions AC Milan travel to the capital to face Roma, and Milan are riding a three-match winning streak. Massimiliano Allegri's side has struck eight goals in their last two league games and is two points adrift of Juventus.
Fourth-placed Napoli will look to end Catania's five-match unbeaten run when the two teams square off at the Angelo Massimino stadium. Fiorentina coach Sinisa Mihajlovic will be under pressure heading into Sunday's game against Genoa, with his side having failed to win any of its last five games. Bologna coach Stefano Pioli is hoping his team will build on Wednesday's 1-0 triumph at Chievo when they welcome Atalanta to the Renato Dall' Ara stadium.
Siena take on Chievo on Sunday looking for their third straight victory at home in Tuscany. Novara travel to Lecce looking for their first win on the road this season. The promoted outfit has clinched just one point in four games away from home. Bottom-side Cesena will go to Parma trying to end their winless run. The Emilia-Romagna club has claimed just three points - all from draws.
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