The coaches of fourth-placed Juventus and second-placed Lazio have been playing down the significance of today’s clash at Turin’s Stadio Olimpico.
Lazio trail Serie A leaders Milan by three points with Juve a further three behind that.
And yet both Juve’s Luigi Del Neri and Lazio’s Eddy Reja were keen to insist that defeat will not end their own title hopes.
“It’s not a decisive match but of course it will give us an important indication of where we are,” said Reja.
Del Neri concurred: “This is not a crossroads for the season, just for this moment. It could be important on a psychological level but the championship has only just begun.”
In fact 15 games have been played and after four more, Serie A will have reached the halfway stage of the season.
Already Milan are threatening to run away from the pack as the likes of Inter and Roma are already 10 points back.
The picture is also confused by the likes of Lazio and Napoli occupying higher standings than expected.
Neither was thought capable of mounting a title challenge before the season began but Lazio are second level on points with Napoli.
Many have been expecting Lazio to fall by the wayside for some time but last week’s victory over Inter proved they do have what it takes to challenge the front-runners.
And Reja sees this game as another opportunity to underline that point.
“Of course if we play well against Juve, and hopefully also get a good result, our ambitions will rise,” he said.
“Everyone would be obliged to pay more attention to us.”
However, Reja is still reluctant to talk up his team’s chances of actually going all the way.
“The scudetto doesn’t concern us. There are better sides than us in terms of quality and strength in depth,” he said.
“Of course you can never say never in football but we’re slightly below the level of the big teams.
“Without deceiving our fans, however, I can say if we maintain this humility, we can keep surprising.”
But while Reja remains coy about his team’s abilities, Del Neri is not being fooled.
“It’s a match between two teams at the top of the standings who deserve their positions,” he said before praising his opposite number.
“He’s a great coach, he’s created a solid group, they’re strong with a good identity and the right spirit.
“Lazio have great individuals and a compact team structure. They don’t concede many goals and take advantage of all their chances.
“They’re a dangerous team, to win we’ll need to play the perfect game and we can’t give anything away.”
Seria A
Genoa 0
Napoli 1
Hamsik 25;
HT: 0-1. Att: 24,288.
Red card: Pazienza (N) 85.
Palermo 3
Pinilla 51; Miccoli 61; Zaccardó 89 og;
Parma 1
Lucarelli 7;
HT: 0-1. Att: 22,817.
Udinese 2
Armero 63; Di Natale 80;
Fiorentina 1
Santana 31;
HT: 0-1. Att: 15,000.
Today – 15.00
Bologna vs Milan - 12.30
Brescia vs Sampdoria
Cagliari vs Catania
Juventus vs Lazio - 20.45
Lecce vs Chievo
Roma vs Bari
Next fixtures
Saturday: 18.00 Cesena vs Cagliari; 20.45 Milan vs Roma.
Sunday: 12.30 Lazio Udinese. 15.00 Bari vs Palermo; Catania vs Brescia; Chievo vs Juventus; Napoli vs Lecce; Parma vs Bologna. 20.45 Sampdoria vs Genoa.
Serie B
Atalanta 3 - AlbinoLeffe 1
Crotone 1 - Cittadella 1
Empoli 2 - Portogruaro 3
Frosinone 1 - Novara 1
Modena 0 - Varese 2
Pescara 1 - Vicenza 0
Piacenza 0 - Livorno 1
Reggina 1 - Grosseto 0
Siena 3 - Ascoli 0
Tomorrow
Triestina vs Torino - 20.45
Standings: Novara 41; Siena 37; Atalanta 36; Varese 32; Reggina, Livorno 31; Padova, Pescara 27; Torino, Vicenza 26; Empoli 25; Cittadella, Crotone 23; AlbinoLeffe 22; Grosseto 21; Modena 20; Frosinone 19; Triestina, Ascoli, Sassuolo, Piacenza, Portogruaro 17.