Capello faces Del Piero dilemma

Selection dilemma
The win was Juventus's third in three league matches, and presented Capello with a selection dilemma ahead of Wednesday's trip to fellow UEFA Champions League contestants Udinese Calcio. "I could not have asked for more from the Ascoli game," Del Piero said. "I was very happy with our victory and with my goals. I hadn't played for almost a month so I was very pleased with my performance."

Landmark appearance
Should he feature against Udinese, the skipper will reach an important milestone with his 300th Serie A appearance for the Bianconeri - only 14 players have played more.

No problems
"As captain, I must always be an example to my team-mates," Del Piero added, insisting he was untroubled at losing his grip on a starting place. "I'm calm and I don't have any problem with the coach or with the club. My only goal is to be ready whenever I have the opportunity to play."

Juventus legends
His double against Ascoli brought the 30-year-old closer to becoming Juve's all-time top scorer. Del Piero has 176 goals in all competitions, two fewer than club vice-president Roberto Bettega and three behind Giampiero Boniperti.

Defensive problems
"We are all in good form and we are ready for a difficult away game at Udinese," Del Piero said. Capello has problems in defence, though, as Lilian Thuram, Jonathan Zebina, Alessandro Birindelli and Gianluca Pessotto are still injured, meaning midfielder Manuele Blasi could continue at right-back.

Iaquinta absence
Udinese, meanwhile, must cope with the absence of striker Vincenzo Iaquinta who has a cold. The Italian international scored a hat-trick in his club's Champions League debut against Panathinaikos FC last Wednesday, then struck again in Sunday's defensively chaotic 4-2 defeat at ACF Fiorentina.

'Lesson learnt'
"I think we learnt a lesson in Florence," coach Serse Cosmi said. "Now we have to start working even harder because Juventus are surely the worst team to face after a defeat. However, they did not play particularly well either on Sunday because they were also tired after their Champions League game."

Struggling Milan
Like Udinese, AC Milan are eager to make amends for a weekend reverse, having lost the lead as they went down 2-1 at UC Sampdoria. The Rossoneri have dropped five points behind leaders Juventus and need a win at the San Siro against S.S. Lazio. The Rome club lie second with seven points, level with Fiorentina, US Città di Palermo and AS Livorno Calcio.