Leonardo confident of turnaround

Leonardo confident of turnaround

AC Milan coach Leonardo is confident his side can turn around their stuttering form when they take on promoted side Bari at the San Siro on Sunday.

Their 1-0 defeat to Udinese in midweek meant the club dropped to 11th in the Serie A standings with just seven points collected in five games.

Lack of goalscoring has hindered the Rossoneri, who have struck just three times this campaign.

"What we are missing is the final touch," said Leonardo.

"We must work on movements, on our speed regarding the final manoeuvre.

"I am confident because we control possession and the players are well positioned on the pitch.

"It's early days regarding the standings, so the problem is not how many points we have collected after five games but that we must start scoring more."

The Rossoneri will be put to the test as Bari have one of the best defensive lines in the competition, having given away four goals.

Unbeaten Inter Milan, who are six points clear of the Rossoneri, go into Saturday's clash at Sampdoria inspired by their midweek triumph over Napoli.

The Nerazzurri won 3-1 to temporarily take command of Serie A although they could slip to second if Juventus beat Genoa on Thursday.

Inter welcome back coach Jose Mourinho, who served a touchline ban on Wednesday.

Juventus will be bolstered by the return of star players Diego and Alessandro del Piero for Sunday's game against Bologna.

Both players have recovered from their respective injuries that saw them miss their team's last two encounters.

Red-hot Parma look to make it three wins in a row when they take on Chievo at the Ennio Tardini stadium.

The Ducale club are currently fifth in the standings having collected 10 points out of a possible 15 since gaining promotion to the top flight this summer.

Napoli seek home comfort when they host Siena on Sunday, with the Partenopei having lost all of their three games on the road this campaign while they remain unbeaten at the San Paolo stadium.

Udinese will rely on in-form striker Antonio di Natale to again come up with the goods when they welcome Genoa to Friuli this weekend.

Serie A's top scorer Di Natale took his tally to seven for the season by scoring the only goal of the game against AC Milan on Wednesday.

Lazio coach Davide Ballardini takes on his former club Palermo when the two sides meet at Rome's Stadio Olimpico this weekend.

Ballardini guided Palermo to an eighth-placed finish last season before joining Lazio this summer.

The Biancoceleste are desperate to return to winning ways having collected just one point in their last three games.

Roma, who are level on seven points with neighbours Lazio, make the journey to Sicily to face Catania.

Fiorentina look to pick up where they left off in Wednesday's 2-0 triumph over Sampdoria when they make the short journey to face Livorno in a Tuscan showdown.

Bottom side Atalanta will be desperate to end their winless run on the road when they travel to Verona to meet Chievo.

The Bergamaschi have not won on their travels since April 26 when they edged Lazio 1-0 in Rome.