Rome, Italy (My Sportsbook) - New Lazio coach Giuseppe Papadopulo makes his debut Thursday against rival Roma as the Serie A season resumes with a full slate of matches.

Papadopulo, a former Lazio defender, took over for the sacked Domenico Caso on December 27. Under the weight of financial problems, once-powerful Lazio has sunk to 15th in the Serie A table. Lazio has not beaten Roma since March of 2000, when it went on to win the Scudetto.

Roma has had significant struggles of its own this season, as it sits in a disappointing seventh place. Luigi Del Neri, Roma's fourth coach of 2004, does have a potent offense to work with, as Vincenzo Montella, Francesco Totti, and Antonio Cassano have combined for 25 goals this season. However, Montella will miss the derby due to suspension.

The top of the table appears to be a two-team race between leaders Juventus and defending champions AC Milan. Juventus comes out of the winter break with a four-point cushion, and plays at lowly Parma on Thursday. AC Milan is four points clear of third-place Udinese, and welcomes Lecce to the San Siro.

Juventus lost just once in its first 16 matches, and figures to have no trouble with 19th-place Parma. David Trezeguet is still out with a shoulder injury, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alessandro Del Piero are ready to go. Lilian Thuram is out due to suspension.

"In fact we ended the year a little tired and the break came at the right moment. We have recharged our batteries now and after an intense working week we are ready to start again," said Juventus defender Fabio Cannavaro.

AC Milan's only injury concerns are Jaap Stam and Filippo Inzaghi, who are both out. Lecce, which is second in the league with 31 goals this season, is led by Valeri Bojinov. The 18-year-old Bulgarian has nine goals so far this season.

"We start a new year and face a difficult game which we have to win," said AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko. "Lecce have shown they can play good football, I hope they play their usual way tomorrow."

Udinese has been the surprise of the season so far with 31 points from 16 matches, but faces a tough match at sixth-place Sampdoria.

Inter Milan's bizarre season resumes at Livorno on Thursday. Inter is unbeaten in its 16 matches this season, but has drawn 12 of those games. The inability to close out opponents has left the talented squad in fourth-place, 15 points behind Juventus.

"The team has always tried to play and has always created a lot, both at home and away, and this is the important thing," said Inter coach Roberto Mancini. "We have just paid dearly for a few mistakes."

Inter will be without Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids due to a groin injury, but Serie A leading scorer Adriano (14 goals) is healthy.

SERIE A FIXTURES:

THURSDAY:

Atalanta - Fiorentina

Brescia - Bologna

Cagliari - Messina

Chievo - Siena

Lazio - Roma

Livorno - Inter Milan

AC Milan - Lecce

Parma - Juventus

Reggina - Palermo

Sampdoria - Udinese