AC Milan back in form for derby with Inter

AC Milan has hit its stride just in time for Sunday's clash with Inter in the Milan derby.

Including a victory over FC Zurich in the UEFA Cup, Milan has won three straight after opening Serie A with two losses.

"You lose two games and everything is wrong. Then if you win two everything is good," Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said. "That's football."

Three-time defending champion Inter leads the league with 10 points. Lazio and Atalanta have nine points each and Napoli and Juventus have eight apiece, while Milan has six.

"It seems premature to me to start talking about Inter breaking away," Galliani said. "At one point last year they were 11 points in front, then Roma was winning the title 30 minutes from the end of the season. Tittles are won when they are won."

Alexandre Pato scored the winner as Milan beat Reggina 2-1 Wednesday. Inter posted a hard-fought 1-0 win over newly promoted Lecce with a late goal from substitute Julio Ricardo Cruz.

With multiple options to choose from, both Inter coach Jose Mourinho and Milan's Carlo Ancelotti seem settled on their preferred attacks.

Mourinho likes to surround Zlatan Ibrahimovic with Brazilians Adriano and Amantino Mancini, while Ancelotti chooses Kaka to direct Pato and Marco Borriello.

Borriello scored the first goal for Milan on Wednesday but then exited with an apparent muscle injury, which will almost certainly prevent him from playing against Inter.

That could open up a starting spot for Andriy Shevchenko, who scored 14 goals against Inter _ more than against any other club _ before departing for Chelsea after the 2005-06 season. Shevchenko was transferred back to Milan last month, but hasn't scored yet this campaign.

Another former Golden Ball winner, Ronaldinho, has also seen little playing time, which Ancelotti devoted to the Brazil playmaker's form.

"When Ronaldinho gets back in condition, he's going to be decisive for Milan," Ancelotti said. "I hope he recuperates soon."

Inter's outspoken manager Jose Mourinho has been uncharacteristically quiet lately, assigning his assistant coach Giuseppe Baresi to speak with the media, a move that has peaked curiosity.

"I worry about my own job, but if Ancelotti asks me, we could also send (assistant Mauro) Tassotti to talk," Galliani said. "Of course, if I was the CEO of a TV station, I would want to have Mourinho in front of the cameras, but those are problems between Sky and Inter and I don't want to get involved."

Juventus shared the lead with Inter before drawing with Catania on Wednesday and the Bianconeri now visit struggling Sampdoria, which is still seeking its first win.

"After three or four rounds, it's useless to talk about who's leading the standings," Juve president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli said. "Let's see how this month ends. We knew September was going to be tough."

Cobolli Gigli will root for Milan to beat Inter.

"It's a question of points," he said.

Midfielder Mauro Camoranesi returns from injury but Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is still out for another game or two with a thigh problem. Striker David Trezeguet won't return before January after undergoing surgery on both knees.

Injury-plagued AS Roma hosts surprising Atalanta, which is without midfielder Daniele De Rossi after he was expelled in a 3-1 loss to Genoa on Wednesday.

Roma captain Francesco Totti is again questionable and Juan, Marco Cassetti, Max Tonetto, David Pizarro and Julio Baptista are each out injured.

Roma is still fuming after a goal by Christian Panucci against Genoa was disallowed after a controversial offside call.

"That was a very serious and unbelievable error," coach Luciano Spalletti said. "If they had allowed us that goal, we wouldn't have allowed another and we probably would have won."

Roma has already lost two of its first four games, after losing only four all of last season.

"It's tough to go on like this," Spalletti said.

Another team that excelled last season, Fiorentina, is also struggling. The Viola are tied with Roma with four points and were shut out 3-0 by Lazio on Wednesday.

"We were never in the game," coach Cesare Prandelli said. "It was the worst performance since I've been here. If we're humble enough, we can bounce back, but for now we're still not playing as a team."

Fiorentina hosts Genoa on Saturday

Sunday's other games are: Bologna vs. Napoli; Catania vs. Chievo Verona; Lecce vs. Cagliari; Palermo vs. Reggina; Torino vs. Lazio; and Udinese vs. Siena.