Roberto Mancini is demanding Inter produce their best soccer here Saturday evening against Siena to extend a record-breaking run of 10 consecutive victories.
"It won't be easy against Siena," Mancini said Friday.
"They are a tough side who played a great game against Fiorentina last Sunday. We will have to be focused, only the best Inter will do".
The string of 10 wins in all competitions, including seven in Serie A, is the longest in the club's history.
But Mancini said he is not attaching too much importance to it.
"It would be great if this run never stopped. But we have to try to win in order to maintain our lead at the top of the table, not so much to continue the winning streak," the coach said.
Inter, the only unbeaten side in the championship, lead with 33 points from 13 games.
That gives them a four-point advantage over second-placed AS Roma and six points on third-placed Palermo, who they beat 2-1 in Sicily last weekend.
Siena are back in ninth, but were unlucky to be held to a 1-1 draw by Tuscan rivals Fiorentina last time out and are usually stronger away from home.
"They are good at sitting and waiting for the opposition to come at them and then hitting back on the counter attack," Mancini explained.
He is unable to use Brazil forward Adriano, who set up both of Inter's goals in Palermo, because of back pains.
He is expected to pair Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack alongside Argentina's Hernan Crespo.
After almost three months out because of injury, midfielder Esteban Cambiasso should return to take up the holding position in front of the defence.
That will enable in-form Serb Dejan Stankovic to move up to the hole behind the strikers.
Roma are looking to keep up the chase by picking up their sixth consecutive Serie A victory at home to Atalanta (8th) later on Saturday night.
Palermo, in contrast, are out to stop the rot on Sunday afternoon at lowly Parma (16th). The Sicilian outfit fell to their fourth defeat on the trot in the Italian Cup Thursday, losing 2-3 to Sampdoria.
As speculation rages about a possible return of Andriy Shevchenko from Chelsea, AC Milan (15th) travel to Cagliari (11th) looking to build on last week's win over Messina in order to start climbing back up the table.
Livorno (4th) welcome Chievo Verona (17th) to Tuscany, while Empoli (5th) travel to Torino (13th).
Fiorentina (18th) are bidding to break Lazio's (7th) three-match winning streak in Florence.
There are three more matches in Serie A this weekend: Messina (12th) - Sampdoria (14th), and Udinese (10th) - Reggina (bottom), on Sunday afternoon; and Ascoli (19th) - Catania (6th) on Sunday night.
With none of the title challengers meeting head-to-head this weekend and no major derbies, much media attention is turning to Friday's Serie B clash between Juventus and sleeping giants Genoa.
The two teams have 36 league titles between them - Juventus 27 and Genoa, Italy's oldest club, nine.
The Turin giants are second to Napoli with 24 points, having eaten up the eight-point handicap slapped on them for the Calciopoli referee-rigging scandal, which is also the reason they were relegated to the second division.
Genoa are seventh.
