Maurizio Sarri warned Juventus they will face "a complete team" when they play Inter at San Siro on Sunday and called for the Serie A champions to build on their recent strong performances.
Inter are top of Serie A with a 100 per cent record after six games, while Juve sit two points behind them going into the Derby d'Italia.
Antonio Conte is enjoying the kind of start to life in Milan that he experienced at the Bianconeri, where he achieved an unbeaten first league campaign.
Inter suffered a 2-1 defeat at Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, but Sarri said his men would not be favourites to win.
"We are going up against a strong team, in a moment of good health," Sarri told reporters.
"In this game there are no favourites; I only see two strong teams. It's a great feeling to know how to play a game like this.
"Inter are a complete team, very dangerous and good at bouncing back. It will be a beautiful match.
"It will be important to leave San Siro having made a good performance. Looking at the table would be a gross mistake."
Maurizio Sarri's press conference begins: "We still have to decide some things against Inter today. Let's see how today's training goes" #InterJuve #ForzaJuve pic.twitter.com/5Ah5dsKle1
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 5, 2019
Since Juve's goalless draw at Fiorentina in September handed Inter the advantage in Serie A, Sarri's men collected 2-1 victories over Verona and Brescia before beating SPAL 2-0 at home.
"We must confirm the progress we are making," said Sarri. "At this stage we must be very focused on performance.
"Our average ball recovery line has become higher than the first few matches. There was an improvement.
"We must go and impose our football with quality. Then the game will tell us if we need to adapt to other phases too."
