Milan coach Allegri impressed by Juventus' start

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has been so impressed by Juventus' unbeaten start to the season that the champions' coach believes the Old Lady of Turin deserve to be at the top of the table.

Milan could, temporarily at least, take over top spot if they win away to Genoa on Friday night in a game brought forward from the weekend.

Juve, who finished seventh in the previous two seasons, would then have the possibility to reclaim the league leadership at home to second bottom Cesena on Sunday.

"Juve deserve to be top because they're the only unbeaten team in the league and on Tuesday they provided a show of strength," said Allegri, alluding to Juve's fightback to earn a 3-3 draw at Napoli.

"From 3-1 down they managed to salvage a match that appeared lost."

"(Antonio) Conte's team are title challengers, they were from the beginning and their current position has reinforced that theory."

However, since a difficult start in which Milan won just one and lost two - including to Juve - of their opening five matches, they have been the form team.

"We're on a good run of six wins and a draw. Juve are a step ahead but we've pulled back four points since the international break," said Allegri.

"There's still a long way to go. We have to play well to continue our run of results."

Allegri is expecting a tough job in Genoa, where Milan have won only once since 1982 - although Genoa have spent less than half the interim period in the top flight.

"Genoa are relentless at home and on top of that they're going through a delicate period after the defeat to Cesena," he said.

"It's not easy to play against (Alberto) Malesani's teams because they're a mix of organisation and good technique."

The hosts will be missing top scorer Rodrigo Palacios, who is suspended, but Allegri is not expecting them to be weakened due to this.

"It's an important loss but teams in difficulty always find the strength to give their best."

"Genoa will play on the counter and they are deadly because they have amazing fans who support them."

"We will play with intensity and we're going to need the right footballing nastiness to win the game."