ROME - AC MILAN coach Carlo Ancelotti has asked for a more determined approach from his team when they face Udinese at the San Siro on Sunday night.

Milan's defense was poor in the 4-2 loss to Juventus in their most recent fixture and the central midfield looked lightweight in the absence of Italy international Gennaro Gattuso. A 2-2 draw with Wolfsburg on Wednesday cost Milan top position in its Uefa Cup group.

Ancelotti said that he expects an all round improvement as Milan tries to get its title challenge back on course.

'We're not solid enough,' he said. 'At times the defense found itself exposed. The responsibility in cases like this is never with one part of the team. At the moment there is little compactness and little solidarity.

'The question isn't of individuals, but of the team. Sacrifice has to be a constant, not something that comes out in moments like this.' Udinese won't be pushovers, though its form has slipped from earlier in the season when it appeared its attack featuring three Italy strikers - Fabio Quagliarella, Simone Pepe and Antonio Di Natale - was capable of firing the club into the Champions League places.

Inter Milan leads with 39 points, Juventus is next with 33, Napoli and Milan are tied with 30 and Fiorentina has 29.

With Gattuso missing for the rest of the season, the spotlight will fall on Mathieu Flamini and Massimo Ambrosini to be the ball-winners for Milan and offer protection to the ballplayers, Andrea Pirlo, Kaka and Ronaldinho.

'We have to replace a very important player such as Gattuso and that is why we took Flamini, who came to Milan for eventualities like this,' Ancelotti said.

Ambrosini put Milan in front against Wolfsburg, and Alexandre Pato also scored before Wolfsburg equalized nine minutes from time.

Juventus will travel to Atalanta confident that it can build on the momentum from beating Milan and looking to solidify its second place position.

Juve coach Claudio Ranieri has come in for praise for the number of young Italian players he is selecting in his lineups, with the likes of Sebastian Giovinco, Marco Marchionni, Paolo De Ceglie, Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio showing they are worthy of lining up alongside veterans Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved.

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon started training again this week and is due to return in January following a long injury layoff.

Still, Marchionni is warning that his teammates must not get carried away with the win over Milan and concentrate on their last match of 2008.

'It will be a harder match than the one against Milan,' he said. 'Against Milan it is easy to be stimulated, but looking ahead to next Sunday we have to be brave and re-energize our batteries to grab a victory that would mean we can end 2008 with a lot of satisfaction.' One player who has come in for much praise for his contribution to Juventus' impressive form is Brazilian-born striker Amauri.

The former Palermo hit man has already bagged 10 goals in his first season in Turin and with Italian citizenship imminent, he has hinted that he wouldn't be adverse to lining up for Marcello Lippi's Italy side.

'I hope that the passport arrives for Christmas, or at least early next year,' Amauri told La Repubblica. 'I am Brazilian by birth, but Italian for most of my sporting career. We'll see what 2009 brings.' Inter visits Siena on Saturday evening and not for the first time this season, the buildup to the match has been overshadowed by the continuing tension between coach Jose Mourinho and striker Adriano.

The Brazilian was accused of coming to training with a hangover and club President Massimo Moratti has said that it is up to the player if he wants to resolve matters with the club.

'For us it is easy to manage and the player can handle it,' Moratti said, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport. 'It depends on him, we hope he can manage it positively.' Fiorentina, eliminated by Torino in the Italian Cup on Wednesday, visits Sampdoria knowing it needs a good result to leapfrog Napoli into the Champions League places.

The strike-partnership of Adrian Mutu and Alberto Gilardino has taken time to gel, but now they have struck up an understanding that has helped Gilardino become one of the leagues leading scorers with 12 goals, while Mutu has hit six.

Lazio hosts Palermo to kick off the weekend's matches Saturday.

Sunday's other games are: Catania vs. Roma; Cagliari vs. Reggina; Chievo Verona vs. Genoa; Lecce vs. Bologna; and Torino vs. Napoli. -- AP