Stadio Giuseppe Meazza plays host to the 230th installment of the famous Derby della Madonnina as Inter take on Milan in a blockbuster Serie A fixture. Saturday’s showdown could be a season-defining contest for the Rossoneri, who are fighting tooth and nail to dethrone city rivals this season.
Coming into this matchday, Stefano Pioli’s men trail the defending Serie A champions by four points. However, with Inter also boasting a game in hand, a failed attempt to acquire all three points could prove detrimental to Milan’s hopes of landing their first Scudetto since 2010/11.
In the meantime, the Nerazzurri head into proceedings in the midst of a purple patch, having gone unbeaten in their last 14 league matches in a row. A potential triumph here would give Inter a decisive nudge towards lifting the Serie A titles twice on the trot for the first time since 2009/10.
Neither side would benefit much from a possible draw in this high-stake affair, especially Milan, who have suffered a couple of setbacks in the build-up to this clash.
But a stalemate here could be music to Napoli’s ears, with the Partenopei firmly back in the Scudetto race after an eye-catching start to the new calendar year.
Inter vs Milan Head-to-Head
Stefan de Vrij’s own goal midway through the first half cancelled out Hakan Calhanoglu’s penalty before Lautaro Martinez’s waste from the spot catapulted Milan to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture. So for the first time since 2015/16, the Rossoneri could draw both seasonal meetings with Inter in Serie A.
The last time that happened, Pioli was in charge of the Nerazzurri, so history beckons here. But considering Milan have only won one of their previous 11 top-flight matches against Inter (D4, L6), a draw could even be considered a success for the seven-time European champions.
It gets worse for the Rossoneri. They have lost more Serie A games (67) and conceded more goals (247) versus Inter than against any other side in the competition’s history. Therefore, if Milan are to cling on to their Scudetto hopes, they will have to defy tradition on Saturday.
Inter Preview
Inter will be brimming with confidence after stringing together a resounding 28 Serie A home outings without defeat. But even though they are enjoying their second-longest undefeated home streak in the competition, the Nerazzurri can ill-afford to get complacent.
Indeed, their last top-flight loss at home came at the hands of non-other than Milan as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s quick-fire double 16 minutes into the game paved the wavy for a 2-1 victory in October 2020. Yet, much has changed in the Meazza camp since.
Inter are not only the solitary Serie A side to have notched up 50+ goals in Italy’s elite competition this season (53), but they’ve also conceded the second-low 16 goals so far. On that basis, it is not surprising that they’ve won all five league games after conceding first this term, including two at home.
Milan Preview
Though they are only nominal visitors in this fixture, Milan can draw confidence from their decent away form. Since an action-packed 4-3 defeat at Fiorentina in late November, they have racked up a four-game unbeaten Serie A run as a travelling side (W3, D1).
Each of their three wins in that four-match sequence saw the Rossoneri bag 3+ goals, which bodes well with their free-scoring form on the road this term. Pioli’s men have netted a league-high 27 goals in Serie A away matches this season, averaging 2.45 goals per road trip.
However, following a goalless home draw with Juventus on the eve of January’s international break, Milan stare at the prospect of drawing a blank in back-to-back Serie A fixtures for the first time since February 2021. Unfortunately, they cannot call upon superstar striker Ibrahimovic to lead the charge.
According to Pioli (via the club’s official website), the Swedish veteran is ruled out with an injury. And the same goes for Ante Rebic.
Inter vs Milan Predicted Lineups
Inter (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic; Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij, Milan Skriniar; Denzl Dumfries, Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu; Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko.
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Alessandro Florenzi, Pierre Kalulu, Matteo Gabbia, Theo Hernandez; Rade Krunic, Sandro Tonali; Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao; Olivier Giroud.