Roma eye record and Champions League place

Roma aim to equal the all-time record of 10 successive Serie A wins by beating Empoli tomorrow afternoon.

The 2001 champions, fifth on 48 points from 25 matches, have closed in on the Champions League places and a victory could lift them above Fiorentina, who face Roma's city rivals Lazio.

Roma's record attempt will ensure they get top billing tomorrow. The top three in the division play today to give them an extra day's rest before their Champions League fixtures next week.

Leaders Juventus (66 points) travel south to play Messina with a 12-point lead over Milan and Inter, who scrap it out against Cagliari and Livorno respectively.

Should Roma defeat Empoli they will become one of only four teams - the others being Juventus in the 1931-32 season, Milan in 1950-51 and the Bologna side of 1963-64 - to notch up 10 Serie A wins in a row.

They have needed a little luck to get this far, but their recent form has been sparkling.

Last month they knocked Juventus out of the Italian Cup and on Wednesday they won 2-1 at Belgium's Club Bruges in the UEFA Cup, despite playing with 10 men for most of the match.

Roma's revival has erased memories of last season's turmoil when four coaches tried and failed to impose order on a team that went off the rails after Fabio Capello's departure to Juventus. The capital side had to fight until the penultimate round of matches to avoid relegation.

The arrival of former Udinese boss Luciano Spalletti at the start of this season initially produced erratic results, but now his team's incisive passing game is being hailed as the most attractive in the division.

Several players have been outstanding, including Brazilian winger Mancini - scorer of seven goals in seven games since coming back from injury - and captain Francesco Totti, who finally seems to have got his volatile temper under control.

"That's the biggest difference this year," said midfielder Damiano Tommasi after the win at Bruges. "The team never loses its head."

The chances of Empoli stopping Roma look slim. The Tuscan side has slipped into the relegation zone after losing 11 of its last 14 matches.

Should Roma climb to fourth this weekend, Fiorentina's players will have only themselves to blame. A 12-point advantage over Roma at the start of last month has been whittled away and they will be relieved to be back at the Franchi stadium, where they have won all but one of their 13 games this season.

Of the top three, Inter have the most difficult match. Back-to-back defeats against Fiorentina and Juventus have blown their title ambitions to pieces and they begin the battle for second place with a trip to Livorno, who will be full of confidence after beating Fiorentina last week.

Juventus and Milan warm up for the Champions League with matches against teams that hover one point above the relegation zone.

Juve striker David Trezeguet will miss the trip to Messina after spraining his ankle during training.

Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko is expected to return from injury to partner Alberto Gilardino or Filippo Inzaghi, who scored a hat-trick in last week's 4-1 win over Reggina.