Last chance for Juventus to stay on Inter Milan's heels

Juventus are in a must-win situation against leaders Inter Milan in an Italian football classic Saturday if they want to stay in the Serie A title race.

Coming off a 2-0 defeat at Cagliari last weekend, which followed another 2-0 crash at Bordeaux in the Champions League, Juve have dropped eight points behind Inter and have virtually no room left for further mishaps.

With the club barricaded in their training camp south of Turin, veteran defender Fabio Cannavaro was the only one to speak, offering support to the often criticized young coach Ciro Ferrara.

"These days he found the right knots. He analysed well the situations where we cannot express ourselves," Cannavaro said. "I see him tranquil, serene, also because preparing these (big) games is usually easier than others.

"In this moment Inter are convinced and aware of being a very strong team, but we must think about ourselves and go ahead on our path."

There was tension in the past weeks as some Juve fans insulted Inter striker Mario Balotelli, a young talent with Ghanaian origins, but Cannavaro suggested to "keep racist chants separated from (mere) teasing, which should not be stressed as it sometimes happens."

It is uncertain whether the 19-year-old striker will be at the Stadio Olimpico as coach Jose Mourinho sidelined him last weekend on disciplinary reasons.

Although far from perfection, Inter managed to bounce back from a 2-0 beating at Barcelona when they edged Fiorentina through a spot kick to remain at the top, with cross town AC Milan now second seven points behind.

The Devils welcome Sampdoria on Saturday afternoon after having leapfrogged Juve through a 2-0 win over minnows Catania that bore the signature of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, a young Dutchman who finally found the net since arriving in the summer.

A city derby between Roma and Lazio closes the Serie A weekend late Sunday after both sides were on Europa League duty in midweek. Roma were due to host Basle on Thursday night while Lazio lost 2-1 at Salzburg on Wednesday and crashed out.

Genoa drew 0-0 at Slavia Prague after a 3-0 drubbing of Sampdoria and Sunday welcome promoted Parma, who lie joint-fourth with Samp.

Fiorentina, who lost ground from the defeat at Inter, play Atalanta, another Lombardy side from Bergamo. Napoli and promoted Bari face off in a southern-Italy derby.

Palermo and Cagliari play an islanders tie, Bologna host Udinese, lowly newcomers Livorno welcome Chievo and bottom side Siena take on second-from-last last Catania.

Last updated on Dec 3^rd, 2009 at 19:27 pm IST--DPA