The Derby della Madonnina headlines this weekend’s Serie A schedule, with arch-rivals Inter and AC Milan set to do battle at the iconic San Siro on Sunday night.
The old foes are separated by just two points in the Serie A table, as second-placed Inter lead fifth-placed Milan. That said, Napoli are 13 points clear at the top.
Inter and Milan have already faced each other twice this season, with Milan winning in the league and Inter triumphing in the Supercoppa Italiana. Who will come out on top this time around?
On Tuesday, Inter booked their place in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia with a 1-0 home victory over Atalanta – limiting the visitors to a solitary shot on target.
Not only have the Nerazzurri won five of their last six games in all competitions, but they have also won eight of their previous 10.
When you look at the bigger picture, Milan have won 13 of their 20 Serie A matches this season – registering one draw and six losses in the process.
Having avoided defeat in the first half of each of their previous 17 league outings, Inter are expected to make a strong start on Sunday.
As for Milan, they head into Sunday’s showdown on the back of three consecutive defeats. Worse still, they are currently on a six-game winless run in all competitions.
After losing 3-0 to Inter in the Super Cup, the Rossoneri suffered a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Lazio before losing 5-2 to Sassuolo last weekend.
Having failed to win any of their past four league games, Milan find themselves outside of the Champions League places in the Serie A table.
It is also worth noting that each of Milan’s previous six league outings have dished up over 2.5 goals, so Sunday’s clash looks set to be high-scoring affair.
Head-to-head: Across the past six meetings in all competitions, Inter have won twice, Milan have won twice, while the other two contests ended all square.
Given that nine of the last 12 meetings between Inter and Milan have produced over 2.5 goals, we are likely to see plenty of action this weekend.
Team news: Samir Handanovic (muscle) and Marcelo Brozovic (calf) are both expected to miss Sunday’s clash due to injury.
Meanwhile, Milan look set to be without the injured quartet of Fikayo Tomori (thigh), Mike Maignan (calf), Alessandro Florenzi (hamstring) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (meniscus).
Given that Inter thrashed Milan 3-0 last month, the Nerazzurri are likely to get the better of the Rossoneri this time around.
Forebet predicts that both teams will combine for over 2.5 goals, with Inter clinching the Milan bragging rights on this occasion.