We can close the gaps - F.Cannavaro

We can close the gaps - F.Cannavaro

Juventus defender Fabio Cannavaro is refusing to press the panic button as Inter pull clear in the Serie A title race.

Jose Mourinho's side are seven points clear after second-placed Juve lost 3-2 at home to Napoli last week.

But Cannavaro is determined his side will bounce back against Atalanta on Saturday, having taken the positives from Tuesday's Champions League win away to Maccabi Haifa.

"Against Napoli our lights went out in the second half but against Maccabi we played a good match," he said.

"In Bergamo we will play a great match but it will be difficult.

"It is true we are seven points behind but we look only at ourselves and we are sure we will do well."

The suspension of striker Amauri brings about the only change to the squad which travelled to Israel, where Mauro Camoranesi defied a head injury to score the only goal.

The injured Alessandro Del Piero, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Jonathan Zebina and Mohammed Sissoko remain on the sidelines.

Ciro Ferrara's side will come up against a side coached by Antonio Conte, a former Bianconeri team-mate of both Ferrara and Cannavaro.

"Conte is a friend and a very charismatic coach," the latter added.

"He is not going through an excellent moment but I am sure that he will soon recover because in the past he did really well."

Atalanta go into the match having suffered back-to-back defeats, but Conte remains upbeat ahead of the meeting with his long-time employers.

The Bergamaschi lie 16th in Serie A following a 1-0 loss to Livorno and a 3-0 hammering at Cagliari.

But Conte insisted: "We didn't get over-excited when we had a run of five positive results before just as we are not down now.

"We had problems back then and we still have them, but we must resolve them."

Those problems intensified this week as defenders Paolo Bianco, Maximiliano Pellegrino and Gianpaolo Bellini were ruled out of training by illness.

In addition, Robert Acquafresca, Diego De Ascentis, Ivan Radovanovic, Adriano Ferreira Pinto and Thomas Manfredini all worked out separately from the bulk of the squad.

And Conte acknowledges his side - who face English Premier League side Hull in next week's 15th renewal of the Trofeo Bortolotti - face an uphill struggle.

"I have to do without several key players through injury and we know our task is difficult," he said.

He retains a fondness for Juventus, but claims that will be put to one side when the match kicks off.

"I spent 13 years at Juventus, and you cannot forget this easily," he said.

"However, this doesn't mean anything. I want to do well with Atalanta and work for the club in the long term.

"Juventus are a tricky team. I saw them against Napoli and they played well. It will be a tough game, but one like the others."