Following a two-week hiatus to accommodate international football, Serie A returns to action with arguably its most iconic fixture as Inter and Milan lock horns at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on Saturday. Let’s look at our match preview for this heavyweight showdown.
The newest chapter of the famous Derby della Madonnina is also an early top-table Serie A six-pointer. For the first time since 1971/72, Inter and Milan have opened a new league season with three consecutive wins each, assuming control of the top of the standings, three points ahead of reigning champions Napoli.
One way or another, Serie A will have one or no side with a 100% record after four rounds on Saturday evening. Inter boss Simone Inzaghi weathered the storm toward the end of last season. Guiding his team to the Champions League final perhaps played a pivotal role in his survival at the helm. But this campaign shows plenty of promise.
Like Milan, Inter had a perfect three-game start to the season before September’s international break. After a brace of 2-0 wins over Monza and Cagliari, Nerazzurri put Fiorentina to the sword last time out, running out 4-0 winners on home soil. Lautaro Martinez grabbed his second double in three games to inspire his team to another emphatic victory.
But an even more noteworthy takeaway from Inter’s demolition of La Viola was Marcus Thuram’s first goal in Nerazzuri colors. And while the Frenchman had to wait until Gameweek 3 to get off the mark in Serie A, his Milan counterpart Christian Pulisic is already making strides at San Siro.
The United States captain opened his account with a sterling finish from outside the box in a 2-0 triumph at Bologna on the opening weekend. He opened the scoring in a 4-1 humbling of Torino on day two but couldn’t add to the tally as Milan pulled off a crucial 2-1 victory away to fierce rivals Roma on the stroke of the international break.
With Pulisic drawing a blank, Milan turned to their new number ten to deliver a moment of magic. Rafael Leao scored a superb volley to seal Roma’s fate before Fikayo Tomori’s expulsion cast a shadow on Rossoneri’s scintillating performance at the Stadio Olimpico.
Match Preview
Inter
Delivering action from the onset, Inter have broken the deadlock within the opening 25 minutes in all three Serie A outings this season, not to mention scoring twice before halftime in the last two. Not only are they the joint most-prolific team in Italy, alongside Milan, Inzaghi’s men are also the league’s best defense.
As the only side yet to concede a goal this term, Inter would be forgiven for setting their sights on keeping the bragging rights in the blue part of the city. They’ve assumed complete control of this fixture under Inzaghi, beating Milan in their last four encounters across all competitions without conceding.
Only a few months ago, they ousted their arch-rivals from the Champions League semi-finals 3-0 on aggregate.
Player to Watch: Lautaro Martinez
In addition to leading the scoring charts in the early Serie A season with five goals, Martinez enjoys facing Milan. It has taken him just 14 appearances against Rossoneri to score eight times!
Milan
Poised to avenge last season’s elimination from Europe’s most prestigious football competition, Milan will look to flip the script after a raft of summer signings laid the groundwork for a potentially season-long fight for the Scudetto. Stefano Pioli’s new-look side went from strength to strength before the international break, netting at least two goals in all three league games.
Speaking of Inter’s quick-fire starts, Rossoneri have opened the scoring inside the first 15 minutes in two of their three Serie A fixtures thus far. However, Pioli’s defense has shown numerous signs of vulnerability and is yet to keep a clean sheet this season. Improving at the back could be crucial to Milan’s bid to open a new top-flight campaign with a four-game unbeaten run for only the second time since 1995/96.
Player to Watch: Olivier Giroud
Despite picking up a knock while on international duty with France, the aging striker should be in the starting lineup on Saturday. He has already bagged four goals this season, getting on the scoresheet in all three league appearances. It’s worth noting three of those strikes came from the spot.
Team News
With Francesco Acerbi, Juan Cuadrado, and Stefano Sensi the only players struggling with minor injuries, Inter won’t be missing any vital first-team components on the derby day.
Pioli would wish he could say the same for Milan. Ismael Bennacer is still on the sidelines with a long-term knee injury. Pierre Kalulu might be unable to fill Tomori’s shoes at the back due to a muscle problem.
Inter vs Milan Potential Lineups
Inter (3-5-2): Yann Sommer; Matteo Darmian, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Federico Dimarco; Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez.
Milan (4-3-3): Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Malick Thiaw, Simon Kjaer, Theo Hernandez; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rade Krunic, Tijjani Reijnders; Christian Pulisic, Noah Okafor, Rafael Leao.
Inter vs Milan Prediction
Despite Inter’s recent domination, the Derby della Madonnina can always go either way. The last time this fixture ended in a league draw was in November 2021. Maybe it’s time for a repeat.
Prediction: Draw
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