The day of reckoning pits reigning Italian champions Milan against arch-rivals and last season’s runners-up Inter for the 177th time in Serie A. Saturday’s encounter at the San Siro is the latest chapter of a long-standing rivalry between the two sides that boast 19 top-flight titles each.
Following Juventus’ decade-long dominance of Italian football, the flames of the famous Derby della Madonnina derby are burning more than ever. Last season, Milan and Inter went neck and neck for the Scudetto, with Stefano Pioli’s coming out on top by a thin margin. Nothing should change this term, with both teams aiming for the second star on their shirts.
Despite heading into this meeting unbeaten in all four Serie A games this season, Milan’s title defence has been off to a sluggish start. The Rossoneri have alternated between winning and drawing in their opening four league outings. Indeed, they had Mike Maignan to thank for avoiding an upset in a 0-0 draw at Sassuolo last time out.
Unlike Milan, Inter have opened the new season with a promising run of three wins from four league fixtures. Yet, their solitary Serie A defeat thus far came at the hands of the only high-profile opposition, Lazio. Simone Inzaghi’s side fell to a disheartening 3-1 loss at the Stadio Olimpico on matchday three but bounced back to beat newly-promoted Cremonese 3-1 in midweek.
Match Preview
Milan
Milan drew a blank in both last season’s Coppa Italia ties against Inter and could go scoreless in three consecutive meetings with the city rivals for the first time since 1980. However, the Rossoneri held the Nerazzurri winless in both Serie A clashes in 2021/22 (W1, D1), including a come-from-behind 2-1 win in their most recent league showdown.
Though they are only nominal hosts in this fixture, Milan could string together six consecutive Serie A home wins for the first time since August 2014. Pioli has based his side’s decent start to the season on a rock-solid backline that has kept a clean sheet in their last two league matches.
However, you’d have to go back to April 2018 to find the Rossoneri’s last shutout against Inter in Serie A. In fact, Milan have conceded at least once in eight successive league meetings with the Nerazzurri since. With Simon Kjaer back to the fold following a long-term injury, Pioli’s side may stand a chance of keeping their opponents at bay.
Inter
Except for the abovementioned defeat in Rome, Inter have netted at least twice in their remaining three Serie A games this season. Only Napoli’s tally of nine goals beats their haul of seven goals, suggesting Inzaghi’s men could do plenty of harm to the reigning champions’ defence on Saturday.
Back to Giuseppe Meazza following an underwhelming season at Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku could be the catalyst to sway things back to the Nerazzurri favour. He was on the scoresheet twice in his most recent Derby della Madonnina appearance as Inter thumped Milan 3-0, which ironically remains their last H2H league victory to date.
Inzaghi has a personal agenda here. After failing to win his first two Serie A Derbies at the helm, he could become the first Inter manager to go winless in his first three league matches against Milan since 1993. He’d also want to avoid being in the dugout for his side’s back-to-back Serie A defeats at the hands of the Rossoneri for the first time since 2011.
Team News
Milan boss Pioli is still without Ante Rebic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while Alessandro Florenzi picked up a hamstring injury at Sassuolo in midweek. Deadline-day signing Sergino Dest could make his debut at the right-back, with the Rossoneri hoping to have Divock Origi back in time to make the squad.
As for Inter, Dalbert is the only definite absentee as Inzaghi still prays for Lukaku wins his race against time to regain full fitness. The Belgian’s potential absence could put Joaquin Correa back into the mix, with the Argentine scoring four goals against Milan, more than against any other opponent in Serie A.
Milan vs Inter Potential Line-ups
AC Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Theo Hernandez, Fikayo Tomori, Pierre Kalulu, Sergino Dest; Sandro Tonali, Ismael Bennacer; Junior Messias, Rafael Leao, Charles De Ketelaere; Olivier Giroud.
Inter Milan (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic; Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Hakan Calhanoglu, Marcelo Brozovic, Nicolo Barella, Federico Dimarco; Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa.