MY ACCOUNT
– AC Milan have failed to win any of their last six games in all competitions
– The Rossoneri have conceded 14 goals in their last four games
– Inter beat their city rivals 3-0 in the Super Cup last month
– Recommended bet: Inter Milan to win
Napoli already appear away and gone in the Serie A title race but the battle for second is very much on and Milan rivals Inter and AC are two of the five teams involved.
Just three points separate second from sixth in Serie A, while there are two points between fierce rivals Inter in second and Milan in fifth.
On the face of it, there is little between the two giants but the pair could not be heading into the Derby della Madonnina in more contrasting form.
While Inter have lost only one of their eight games in 2023, Milan are without a win in six and have been leaking goals all too freely.
Milan have lost three straight matches, which includes a 3-0 humiliation against Inter in the Italian Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Stefano Pioli’s side have also endured heavy defeats in their last two league games, suffering a 4-0 hiding at Lazio before an embarrassing 5-2 loss at home to Sassuolo.
Team news
Inter remain without Brazilian defender Dalbert while Marcelo Brozovic and Samir Handanovic, who both missed Tuesday’s Coppa Italia quarter-final victory over Atalanta, are likely absentees.
For Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessandro Florenzi and Mike Maignan are still sidelined.
Defenders Fikayo Tomori and Sergino Dest and Algerian midfielder Ismael Bennacer are further injury doubts and must be assessed.
The stats
In their last six Serie A matches, Inter have won four, drawn one and lost one.
AC, meanwhile, have won only two, drawn two and lost two.
That should give Inter the edge and they will be buoyed by the fact that they have lost just two of their last eight rivalries with the Rossoneri.
Pioli’s men have conceded 14 goals across their last four matches in all competitions, being breached at least twice in each of those games.
That will be music to the ears of Inter’s leading scorer Lautaro Martinez, who has netted six goals in his last seven appearances, which includes a goal in the recent Super Cup victory.
The Nerazzurri have won eight of their 10 league games at the San Siro this season and, although they share a stadium with the Rossoneri, they should be confident of bolstering that record.
Prediction
For one reason or another, Piolo is struggling to get the best out of his Milan team at present, and that leaves them vulnerable in this fierce rivalry.
Since returning from the World Cup, Milan have won only one of their five league games and that came in their first game back at Salernitana.
However, since that hard-fought 2-1 victory, the Rossoneri have played out 2-2 draws with Roma and Lecce, lost 4-0 at Lazio and, latterly, suffered a 5-2 loss at the hands of Sassuolo.
Those recent performances will not cut it against an in-form Inter, who toppled their bitter neighbours 3-0 in the Italian Super Cup just over two weeks ago.
The Nerazzurri, meanwhile, are in excellent heart and should have gained plenty of confidence from their Coppa Italia quarter-final win over Atalanta on Tuesday.
That victory means Simone Inzaghi’s men have now lost only one of their last 10 matches and they hold the aces in the Derby della Madonnina.
