The European champions take on the Italian title holders tomorrow at the San Siro when Juventus will try to avenge their Champions League final defeat by AC Milan.
Fittingly for two clubs who have won more honours than the rest of Serie A combined, the sides go into the match level on points at the top of the table.
Marcello Lippi's Juventus, winners of the last two 'scudettos', are out to make up for their disappointing display at Old Trafford in May when they lost on penalties to hand Milan their sixth European Cup win.
Juve may have beaten Milan in the Italian Super Cup but the annual pre-season meeting of the Italian league and Cup winners, which took place in August, did little to ease the pain of that disappointing defeat in Manchester.
With Roma and Lazio both looking capable of keeping pace with the two favourites this season and only seven games gone, no-one in the Milan or Juve camps is talking of the match as being decisive in the title race.
"If we should even draw or lose then it doesn't change anything overall," says Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, "But when you are out their in front of a full stadium you don't lack for motivation."
If the points will not make or break title hopes there is no doubt that, psychologically, a win will provide a huge boost.
"Whoever wins on Saturday will acquire more confidence and conviction," says Milan defender Alessandro Nesta. "At this moment in time, Milan v Juve is the most important game with global prestige at stake. We are talking about two high quality teams yet we are profoundly different from each other.
"We have more in terms of quality, they have more power," says the classy centre back, highlighting the contrasting styles in midfield.
"For example they have (Pavel) Nedved who is unpredictable and so strong but he doesn't have the dribbling skills of Rui Costa."
That difference is likely to be accentuated by the absence of Juve's light-footed forward Alessandro Del Piero, meaning that Lippi may focus on longer balls to exploit the pace and strength of strikers David Trezeguet and Marco Di Vaio.
In Juve's midfield Alessio Tacchinardi, Stephen Appiah and Edgar Davids all bring grit, determination and strength while Milan's game depends greatly on the creative input of Andrea Pirlo and unpredictability of Rui Costa and exciting young Brazilian midfielder Kaka.
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti is hoping to have Filippo Inzaghi fit enough to partner Andriy Shevchenko in attack with the Ukrainian looking for his 100th goal since moving to Italy from Dynamo Kiev in 1999.
Should Inzaghi not make it, Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson, who scored in last week's 3-0 win over Sampdoria, could start or Ancelotti might opt to play Kaka and Rui Costa in free roles behind Shevchenko.
Last season's corresponding fixture ended in a 2-1 win for Milan.