Parma currently occupy the fourth qualifying spot for Europe's premier club competition and they are six points ahead of both the Milan clubs.

A draw on Friday would be a dream result for Parma. If they were to beat struggling Reggina on Saturday they would be eight clear of the Milan duo with just 12 points left to play for.

Inter go into Friday's match in better form and with the added incentive that their next game is at Parma, offering them a chance to close the gap.

Striker Christian Vieri's hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Atalanta on Sunday confirmed his return to peak form and the Italy international has stressed the importance of the derby for Inter's hopes.

'The UEFA Cup is an important competition but it is the Champions League which every player dreams of taking part in and we still have our eye on that fourth place,' said the former Juventus and Lazio striker.

Milan's defeat at Perugia last weekend was their first since coach Cesare Maldini took over from Alberto Zaccheroni in March but underlines a dreadful away record.

Were it not for the 20 goals of Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko, Milan would probably be languishing in mid-table.

Injuries to key players have hampered Milan throughout the season and they head into Friday's match with several players still on the treatment table.

As well as Massimo Ambrosini and Demetrio Albertini, who are both out for the rest of the season, Italian international wing-back Francesco Coco is likely to miss the derby.

Inter midfielder Luigi Di Biagio faces a late fitness test but Colombian defender Ivan Cordoba and Yugoslav midfielder Vladimir Jugovic are both ruled out.

BARI (18) v VICENZA (13)
Defeat would see bottom club Bari relegated to Serie B if Lecce pick up a point or more from their game at Verona. Vicenza have been banking on three points from this game as part of their battle for survival but they will be without midfield regular Gianluca Comotto.

BRESCIA (11) v BOLOGNA (8)
Brescia will be at full strength for a game which pitches two of Serie A's most experienced strikers head to head. Roberto Baggio has scored in each of Brescia's last six games while Bologna's Giuseppe Signori has 12 goals this season.

FIORENTINA (9) v JUVENTUS (3)
Always a grudge match, this game takes on extra bite after Juventus could only draw with Roma last week and slipped to third, six points behind the leaders. The Florence supporters would love to see their inconsistent side further dent Juve's title hopes, although suspensions to Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa and former Juve defender Moreno Torricelli have hampered those plans. Juve also have a trio of players under one-match bans - Mark Iuliano, Alessio Tacchinardi and Ginaluca Pessotto will all be missing and Uruguayan midfielder Fabian O'Neil is set for a rare start in midfield.

NAPOLI (15) v LAZIO (2)
Lazio benefitted most from last weekend's Juve-Roma draw but will face a Napoli side fighting for their top-flight survival. Pavel Nedved is an injury worry for Lazio coach Dino Zoff and if the Czech fails to recover Yugoslav Dejan Stankovic is likely to deputise.

REGGINA (17) v PARMA (4)
Reggina's win at Parma earlier this season sounded the death knell on Alberto Malesani's reign at the club but Renzo Ulivieri has transformed Parma since. If the Milan derby is a stalemate, Parma could virtually book a Champions League spot and for once Ulivieri has all four strikers fit with in-form duo Savo Milosevic and Marco Di Vaio the likely starters.

AS ROMA (1) v ATALANTA (7)
Roma striker Marco Delvecchio is likely to make way for Vincenzo Montella whose last minute equaliser at Juve ensured Roma remain on course for the title. But Japanese midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata, who inspired the comeback for a 2-2 draw, is likely to be restricted to the bench. Atalanta have faded out of the Champions League qualification race and will be without injured midfield duo Damiano Zenoni and Domenico Morfeo.

UDINESE (12) v PERUGIA (10)
Perugia's UEFA Cup qualification hopes were boosted with last week's win over AC Milan but striker Luca Saudati is out with injury for the trip to Udine. Udinese will be missing Brazilian midfielder Alberto through suspension and must still be wary of being drawn into a late relegation battle.