Fiorentina eye top spot
Fiorentina and Roma will be keeping a hopeful eye on the Serie A clash between league leaders Inter Milan and Lazio at the San Siro on Sunday.
On paper Roberto Mancini's side should extend their lead in the Italian first division, especially as Lazio are languishing beyond mid-table with only two wins from 11 matches.
Fiorentina and Roma, however, will be hoping Inter's recent injury woes contribute to them dropping points against Mancini's former club.
Fiorentina's promising start to the season has left them within sight of taking over the Serie A lead.
Still the only unbeaten side in the league along with Inter, the Florence-based side are only two points adrift of the lead, and host Udinese hoping to claim an easy three points themselves.
Striker Adrian Mutu will be itching to pull his scoring boots back on having been rested for last week's win against Lazio.
Luciano Spalletti's Roma meanwhile will be determined to make up for their disappointing 2-2 draw with Empoli last week, a result which has left them in third place three points behind Inter.
Those hopes will be buoyed by the fact that their Sardinian visitors have won only twice at the Olympic stadium in 28 games.
Despite the likelihood of Fiorentina and Roma harbouring secret wishes for a draw, or Lazio upset, in Milan Inter's recent form suggests that is unlikely to happen.
Last season's corresponding fixture at the San Siro saw Inter win a seven-goal thriller 4-3, but Lazio have not won at the San Siro since a 5-3 victory in October 1998.
Lazio's existing injury woes deepened when Luciano Zauri took a knock during the game with Werder Bremen.
He joins Stefano Mauri, Mobido Diakhite, Sebastiano Siviglia, Simone Del Nero and Goran Pandev on the sidelines, although Macedonian striker Pandev is battling to recover in time.
Inter have injury woes of their own, having lost Luis Figo after the Portuguese midfielder fractured his fibula in a clash with Pavel Nedved during the 1-1 draw at Juventus on Sunday.
Figo will be out for approximately two months, joining Patrick Vieira, Dejan Stankovic, Francesco Toldo and defender Marco Materazzi on the sidelines.
That leaves Mancini with a midfield dilemma, and the Italian coach also has to decide whether Hernan Crespo, Julio Cruz or David Suazo partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack.
One player who is unlikely to feature is party-mad Brazilian striker Adriano, who was told last week by Mancini to tone down his off-field behaviour if he wants to regain his place in the side.
"The most important thing for a player, is to live a normal life and do their work normally, like all the others," said Mancini of Adriano.
"When that becomes the norm and not just for one or two weeks, all Adriano's problems will be solved and he will again be able to play as he has done in the past."
According to reports AC Milan chief Silvio Berlusconi has made no secret of his desire to swoop for the 25-year-old.
"There isn't a team in the world that wouldn't sign him," he said in Wednesday's Gazzetta dello Sport.
If he gets back to playing, and showing his full potential, Adriano could prove useful for a team like Milan, the reigning European champions who have had a dismal start to the season.
Milan travel to Atalanta on Sunday hoping to boost their mediocre tally of 11 points from 14 matches.
But they will be looking at their current star Brazilian, Kaka, to continue the form which has made him the favourite for the soon to be announced Ballon d'Or award.
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