Runaway leaders Inter Milan are seeking to seal the Serie A title with six games to spare Wednesday evening with a home win over second-placed AS Roma.
Inter showed character to come from two goals behind against Palermo (5th) Sunday night to earn a 2-2 draw that set up the midweek scudetto showdown.
But they should be in for a stiff test from a Roma side who are seeking to regain pride lost in last week's 7-1 drubbing at Manchester United in the Champions League.
Roma started to redeem themselves on Sunday afternoon when, led by a superlative Francesco Totti, the author of two splendid goals, they beat Sampdoria 4-0
Inter, who won the early-season clash between the sides 0-1, have 81 points, 16 more than Roma.
If they draw on Wednesday Inter will need two points from their last six games to clinch the title.
A Roma win, meanwhile, will leave the Milanese giants needing to pick up six points in the final straight.
So Italian sports pundits unanimously agree that it is now a question of when Inter will win the championship, not if.
It is set to be the first championship Inter have won 'on the field of play' since 1989.
Inter are the reigning champs, but this is courtesy of the Calciopoli referee-rigging scandal.
Juventus were stripped of last season's title and relegated and AC Milan were deducted points for their respective parts in the scandal. This meant Inter were bumped up from third to first place.
"Now we are thinking about Roma," Inter captain Javier Zanetti told Inter's satellite TV channel
"The important thing is to win the scudetto as soon as possible. There's desire and enthusiasm to do it.
"I have been waiting 12 years for this moment. After lots of suffering and unfairness, we all deserve it."
After moving into the Champions League qualification zone for the first time this season with a 3-1 win over Messina, AC Milan will be seeking to consolidate fourth place against bottom club Ascoli on Wednesday.
Third-placed Lazio, who have 56 points, six more than Milan, entertain a Chievo Verona (16) team in need of good results to fend off the threat of relegation.
Surprise-package Empoli (6th) play host to Atalanta (8th), who are looking for their third consecutive win.
Fiorentina pay a visit to the Parma (18th) of former Chelsea and Valencia coach Cladio Ranieri. The hosts need a win to climb out of the relegation zone.
The midweek fixtures also feature two matches between direct rivals in the race to avoid the drop to Serie B: Reggina (17th) - Messina (19th) and Siena (15th) - Torino (14th).
There are two mid-table matches on Wednesday too: Livorno (12th) - Cagliari (11th) and Udinese (10th) - Sampdoria (9th).
