Milan's recent resurgence under Clarence Seedorf could come to a grinding halt when they face Serie A leaders Juventus on Sunday.
Seedorf has made a fine start to his coaching career at San Siro, losing just one league game since taking over from Massimiliano Allegri last month and keeping Milan in contention for UEFA Europa League qualification.
Indeed, Milan are five points behind fifth-placed city rivals Inter and making up that deficit could be crucial for a team that are 1-0 down from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last-16 clash with Atletico Madrid.
However, Milan now host the defending champions Juve, who are in pole position to seal a third straight Serie A title having lost just one league game all season.
Juve are nine points clear of Roma at the top of the table and should approach the game with confidence knowing that they have lost only one of the last eight meetings between the two sides in all competitions, although Milan did emerge 1-0 winners at San Siro last season.
Roma will look to keep up the pressure on Antonio Conte's side with a win over Inter on Saturday.
Inter are winless in eight meetings with Roma who, like Juve, have lost just once in Serie A this term - with that reverse coming at the Juventus Stadium last month.
But Walter Mazzarri's Inter are also in strong form with just one defeat in five and will hope that recent acquisition Hernanes, a January signing from Roma's arch-rivals Lazio, can help them secure a long-awaited win against the capital club.
Meanwhile, Napoli travel to relegation-threatened Livorno as Rafael Benitez's side aim to further cement third place.
Napoli cruised to a 4-0 win in the reverse fixture back in October in a fine display at the Stadio San Paolo.
A total of 31 points separate the two sides, but the hosts should take heart from recent performances, which have seen Livorno beat Sassuolo and Cagliari to boost their survival hopes.
Benitez's men know that any slip up will allow Fiorentina, ravaged by suspensions to Borja Valero, David Pizarro and Modibo Diakite following ugly scenes in Monday's draw with Parma, to gain ground in the race for the final Champions League place with victory over Lazio.
Verona host struggling Bologna and bottom club Sassuolo entertain Parma desperate for the points after one win in the previous 12 league games.
Catania and Cagliari will look to ease their respective relegation worries with wins against Genoa and Udinese, while Chievo can pull away from the bottom three with triumph at Atalanta and Torino host Sampdoria.
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