Juventus are bidding to leave no doubt they deserve to be back up with the big boys when they take on runaway Serie A leader Inter at the San Siro on Saturday.
''There's still a huge gap between us and Inter at the technical level but we think we've shown we have the right mindset,'' France star David Trezeguet said Thursday.
''And you never can tell what's going to happen in big games like this,'' said Trezeguet, whose 16 goals have helped make third-placed Juve a virtual certainty for Champions League football next season.
The corresponding match in November, when Juve for stretches looked the better side in a 1-1 draw ''was the moment we really grasped we could compete at the highest level again'' after a Calciopoli-enforced year in Serie B, the striker said.
Despite only drawing away at Empoli on Wednesday night, Juve are still comfy in third, five points ahead of Fiorentina and six behind Roma, who both lost.
Second-placed Roma's last-minute loss to city rivals Lazio boosted Inter's lead to seven points despite the leader's only drawing 1-1 at Genoa.
With nine games to go, the bookies are again saying the Serie A race is over.
Against Sampdoria, European champions AC Milan recorded their third home loss of a season that has seen them win only four games on home turf.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti's men are desperate to quickly make up for their embarrassing display as they continue their faltering drive for a Champions League berth at 14th-placed Torino on Saturday.
Fiorentina's loss at Napoli may mean Milan are still only four points behind the Florentines, but as Ancelotti observed Thursday, ''we now have Samp and Udinese breathing down our necks''.
Samp, who host bottom-side Cagliari on Saturday, are a point behind Milan on 45 while Udinese, who entertain fourth-from-bottom Livorno, are a point further back.
Most pundits think the scudetto is already wrapped up but if Roma can stay close this weekend the following one might be the last chance for them to catch up.
On Saturday March 29 Roma travel to Cagliari a couple of hours before Inter go to the Olimpico to face a fired-up Lazio.
