Milan face test of mettle

Serie A leaders host Empoli, trying to bust hoodo against league’s lesser lights

MILAN:

AC Milan host Empoli on Saturday with a slender lead over their Serie A title rivals and a hoodoo to bust against the league's lesser lights.

Last weekend's 1-0 win at Napoli allowed them to reclaim top spot and was another in a series of strong performances against the duo they are battling for the Scudetto.

It came after last month's Milan derby triumph which was also powered by Olivier Giroud and an impressive display against their local rivals in the first leg of their Italian Cup semi-final, which however was not rewarded with a goal.

But the gap separating Milan from Inter is only two points because of their recent struggles against teams they are odds-on favourite to beat.

The win at Napoli was preceded by draws with bottom side Salernitana -- when they were leading after only four minutes -- and Udinese, another team fighting the drop.

Those two draws allowed Napoli to claim the summit going into the last round of fixtures and they have also lost at home to Spezia, albeit in bizarre circumstances, since the turn of the year.

Milan, who are missing the suspended Theo Hernandez on Saturday, have Cagliari, Bologna, Torino and Genoa coming after Saturday and chance to turn the screws if they can start treating lesser teams like they do the big boys.

"Mentality makes a huge difference, some matches there is a spark and others it's not there," said coach Stefano Pioli ahead of his team's win at Napoli.

"It also depends a bit on tactics because if you don't have any space it's difficult to play, but if a team attacks you there are gaps that allow you to be more effective."

Inter had the good news on Thursday that Marcelo Brozovic should be available for Sunday night's match at Torino after having to leave the field early in their midweek Champions League exit at Anfield.

Brozovic was forced off with a muscle issue with a quarter of an hour remaining in Inter's 1-0 win over Liverpool, which wasn't enough to overturn a 2-0 home defeat by the Reds, with his team already down to 10 men.