Milan face last chance to reel in Juventus
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-10 10:33

With no major injury worries, the toughest choice facing Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is whether to field Inzaghi or Alberto Gilardino alongside Andriy Shevchenko in attack.

Milan's players will be lifted even more by the knowledge that Juventus have looked more fragile in the past few weeks than at any point this season.

Juve wobbled in Serie A draws against Parma and Messina and needed a late howler by Werder Bremen keeper Tim Wiese to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Fabio Capello's men will not be relishing the prospect of playing Milan, who are the only team to have beaten them this season in Serie A.

Pacey left back Gianluca Zambrotta is out after picking up a thigh strain against Werder, and with striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic struggling to recapture his sparkling early-season form, the match promises to be a test of Juventus's famous capacity to grind out a result.

Whatever happens at the top, Inter will want to beat Sampdoria to avoid getting sucked into a dangerous battle with fourth-placed Fiorentina (56 points) and fifth-placed AS Roma (55 points) that could result in them losing their Champions League status next season.

In the last month, Inter have gone from being Juventus's main rivals to running the risk of slipping out of the top four.

Fiorentina and AS Roma face relatively easy away matches against Cagliari and Ascoli respectively, and are poised to take advantage of any slip by Inter.