Considering they are only 1-0 down from the first leg it would be churlish to write off Juventus's European prospects against Chelsea on Tuesday night, but there is no doubt that the latest round of injuries has hardly furthered their cause.

FC Internazionale Milano are on course to win their fourth Scudetto in a row but still seem to suffer from an inferiority complex when it comes to the UEFA Champions League.

While Serie A was once regarded as the pinnacle of the European game, the continental kings are now English, with Manchester United FC reigning supreme and, in the last two seasons, the Premier League providing three of the four UEFA Champions League semi-finalists.

FC Internazionale Milano stretched their lead at the top of Serie A to three points at the weekend after a deserved 1-0 win against Juventus, but victory was achieved after returning to the system preferred by former Nerazzurri coach Roberto Mancini. So how much credit should go to the José Mourinho and can the diamond formation bring Inter success in Europe?

With Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri under fire following his side's second successive Serie A defeat against SSC Napoli on Saturday, the pressure is very much upon the Bianconeri as they host nine-times European champions Real Madrid CF on Tuesday night.

This week FC Internazionale Milano, AS Roma, Juventus and ACF Fiorentina all begin their quest to fly the Italian flag all the way to the final in Rome on May 27.

Juve dilemma
None of the above have got off to a perfect Serie A start, although Inter and Juventus have fared the better of the quartet with four points from a possible six. Both won at the weekend, with Juventus looking particularly impressive in their 1-0 win against Udinese. With Wednesday's opponents and UEFA Super Cup winners FC Zenit St. Petersburg in mind the Bianconeri rested David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero and dominated from start to finish, with Vincenzo Iaquinta in attack alongside Amauri, who scored the winner for his new club. Should the 402-goal combination of Del Piero and Trezegol be reinstated against the Russians or should coach Claudio Ranieri turn to the new guard?

At the start of this weekend everything was looking rather rosy in José Mourinho's garden. The FC Internazionale Milano coach had guided his new side to the top of Serie A, following a 1-0 win over US Lecce, the customary opening-day defeat in the UEFA Champions League had for once been sidestepped thanks to a 2-0 win at Panathinaikos FC and city rivals AC Milan had got off to their worst Serie A start in 22 years.

Seeing their side go two goals down at FC BATE Borisov after just 23 minutes, Juventus fans must have been fearing the worst, especially as they had failed to score more than one goal in their previous seven games. While the Bianconeri managed to fight back and save a point courtesy of Vincenzo Iaquinta's double strike, Claudio Ranieri will also be pleased with the diminutive Sebastian Giovinco, the 21-year-old who marked his UEFA Champions League debut with two assists.