Inter Milan visits AS Roma on Saturday in a matchup of the Serie A's top teams from last season, though that's not the case in this campaign.
Inter finished only two points ahead of Roma in 2009-10 but already has an eight-point lead over its rival after four rounds this season.
While Inter has begun to click again under new manager Rafa Benitez, Roma is winless and there is speculation that coach Claudio Ranieri's job is at risk.
After opening Serie A with a 0-0 draw at Bologna, Inter has won three straight games and Diego Milito ended his scoring drought with two goals in a 4-0 rout of Bari on Wednesday.
Milito scored nearly all of Inter's key goals when the club won a treble of titles last season but had gone scoreless in the Nerazzurri's opening six games in all competitions this campaign.
Having scored both goals in Inter's 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, Milito faced a tough psychological blow when Diego Maradona largely left him on the bench during Argentina's run to the World Cup quarterfinals.
"I didn't have any doubts about him," Benitez said. "These players have the right mentality. I knew it was just a matter of time before we started doing the things we needed to do."
Samuel Eto'o has been Inter's top performer thus far, scoring eight goals in seven games in all competitions.
"Right now, he's the one who has the most confidence, but he can play even better," Benitez said.
One of the few disruptions for Inter lately came when Eto'o refused to allow Milito to take a penalty against Bari.
"Eto'o took it because right now he's got a little more confidence with penalties," Benitez said. "The next time it will be Milito's turn."
Inter has 10 points, one more than surprise early frontrunners Chievo Verona and Brescia, and five in front of city rival AC Milan.
Chievo hosts Lazio on Sunday and Brescia is at Bari.
Each of Roma's opening four games have been disheartening.
The Giallorossi were held to a 0-0 draw by Cesena in their opener at home, beaten 5-1 by Cagliari after finishing with 10 men, conceded two late goals in a 2-2 draw with Bologna, then lost 2-1 at Brescia on Wednesday after again losing a man.
Roma was enraged by the referee in the loss to Brescia and sporting director Daniele Prade was at a loss to explain the poor start.
"There are no certainties in football. We really invested in the team this season, brought in new players, but it hasn't produced anything," he said.
While newly signed Marco Borriello has started to hit form, with the former AC Milan forward scoring in each of the past two games, the other new addition Adriano is still working his way back from a right thigh injury. The former Brazil forward played the second half against Brescia but hardly contributed.
Roma is hoping captain Francesco Totti and key midfielder Daniele de Rossi return from injury problems against Inter, but defender Philippe Mexes is suspended and goalkeeper Julio Sergio injured his right ankle against Brescia.
Sergio was forced to play out injury time in tears, with Ranieri having already made his three substitutions.
AC Milan is also struggling as it prepares to face Genoa, with the defense and midfield still unable to support its remodeled attack with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. New coach Massimiliano Allegri has been reluctant to use the Rossoneri's other new forward, Robinho, and is sorely missing Alexandre Pato, who is out injured after scoring twice in the season opener against Lecce.
Milan has won only one of its four league games, but Allegri said he's not worried about the five point deficit.
"We've got to just worry about ourselves and not about Benitez's team," he said. "The season still has a very long way to go and there is time to come back, although we do need to start a positive streak as soon as possible."
Cesena held a share of the lead with Inter entering Wednesday's games but conceded its first goals in a 2-0 loss at Catania.
"I was prepared to face questions about our first loss for three rounds. It had to happen sooner or later," said Cesena coach Massimo Ficcadenti.
Cesena next hosts Napoli.
Juventus, which faced Palermo on Thursday, hosts Cagliari on Sunday.
With the players having suspended a strike for this weekend, it's also: Catania vs. Bologna; Fiorentina vs. Parma; Palermo vs. Lecce; and Sampdoria vs. Udinese.
