Milan, Italy (Sportsbooks) - Former Lazio boss Roberto Mancini will lead his unbeaten Inter Milan team Saturday against his old club.
Mancini left Lazio for Inter last summer, and although he is unbeaten in Serie A play, his team is in sixth place. Inter has won just two of its eight matches while tying six times. The club has been frustrated by an inability to hold onto leads.
"When we take the lead we must grit our teeth even more and not give our opponents the chance to get back into the match," said Mancini. "We have been caught in matches we dominated. This is the biggest disappointment, but it has happened and we must make sure it doesn't happen again."
Mancini is not the only one at Inter that will be facing his old team on Saturday. Giuseppe Favalli, Juan Sebastian Veron, Dejan Stankovic, Christian Vieri and Sinisa Mihajlovic all spent time with Lazio.
"I got on very well at Lazio and I have excellent memories," said Mancini. "Except things that concern the match, I have nothing else to say. The ex- Lazio players will certainly remember their experiences in Rome."
Inter has a tall mountain to climb as they find themselves 10 points behind Serie A leaders Juventus.
"Ten points are clearly a lot, but we're only at the eighth week in the championship," said Inter president Giacinto Facchetti. "We shouldn't look too far ahead, but take each match as it comes. I think we can recover a few points, then we'll see where we are at the halfway point in the championship."
Juventus has looked dominant while winning seven of its eight Serie A matches, and securing three points in all three of its Champions League encounters. Fabio Capello's team is coming off a 2-0 midweek win over Roma, and has allowed just two goals in Serie A play this season. Juventus will host upstart Chievo on Sunday, looking to extend its five point lead over second place AC Milan.
"We cannot talk about of a breakaway or teams cut off from the race to the title," said Juventus midfielder Mauro Camoranesi. "It's still too soon."
Juventus will be without Brazilian Emerson who picked up a red card against Roma, and Jonathan Zebina who suffered a thigh injury in the same match.
AC Milan will travel to Sampdoria Saturday, but could be without striker Filippo Inzaghi and defender Jaap Stam who are both suffering from ankle injuries.
Sampdoria lost its first three matches of the Serie A campaign, but has won four of five since. The winning streak has propelled them to seventh place in the table.
"I expect the usual Sampdoria side, a team who has a well-defined style of play and good organization," said AC Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti. "Their football is simple and dynamic. They can count on strikers like Fabio Bazzani, who can always be dangerous and make things difficult for us."
WEEKEND SERIE A FIXTURES:
SATURDAY:
Sampdoria - AC Milan
Inter Milan - Lazio
SUNDAY:
Roma - Cagliari
Fiorentina - Lecce
Juventus - Chievo
Livorno - Brescia
Messina - Reggina
Parma - Atalanta
Siena - Bologna
Udinese - Palermo
