Milan face last chance to reel in Juventus

It is win or bust for Milan's title chances tomorrow when they take on leaders Juventus in the Delle Alpi stadium.

Ten points behind Juve, who lead the division with 73 points from 28 games, second-placed Milan know victory is vital if they are to start reeling in the champions.

A draw would hardly improve their chances, while defeat would not just pack the title off to Turin, but also leave Milan in danger of surrendering second place to city rivals Inter who are third with 59 points.

At least Milan can go into the game full of confidence after five straight Serie A wins and a 4-1 demolition of Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Having struggled to cope with the long-term absences of Paolo Maldini and Cafu earlier this season, the back four of Jaap Stam, Alessandro Nesta, Kakha Kaladze and Serginho are as solid as any in the division.

Up front, Filippo Inzaghi is playing with the hunger and freshness of a man 10 years his junior.

The 32-year-old striker is enjoying an Indian summer of sorts, scoring seven goals in his last five Serie A matches before adding a couple more in the win against Bayern.

If there is one man who really believes Milan can catch Juventus, it's Inzaghi, who knows a thing or two about unlikely comebacks after spending most of the past two seasons sidelined by injury.

"I still think we can do it. We have to believe we can do it - even if it's a last-ditch hope," Inzaghi was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"This season Juventus have been phenomenal and if they continue to play as they have it will be impossible.

"But we have to do everything we can, win all our remaining matches and give ourselves the best chance possible."

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 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 in the standings.

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