The final match of the weekend in the Italian Serie A will be played on Sunday night as Inter Milan meet AC Milan at the San Siro.
The Milan derby is always a huge occasion in the Italian football calendar and this is no exception. Inter Milan begin the weekend in 2nd place but could be 6 points behind Juventus by the time this game starts. AC Milan are in 6th place on 32 points and will be hoping to close the gap on 4th place Atalanta.
Inter Milan come into this match having defeated Udinese 2-0 away from home in Serie A last weekend. Prior to that result they beat Fiorentina 2-1 at home in the Coppa Italia but the victory over Udinese was their first win in the league in 4 attempts having previously been held to a draw by Lecce away plus Atalanta and Cagliari at home.
The dropped points in those 3 games could prove very costly come the end of the season and Inter Milan really need to win this game to keep the pressure on Juventus.
Despite only winning one of their last 4 Serie A matches, Inter Milan are undefeated in their last 15 league games. They have lost only one of their last 16 at home but have struggled in recent games to pick up maximum points having won just 3 of their last 8 Serie A matches at the San Siro. Trends show there have been under 2.5 goals scored in Inter Milan’s last 4 Serie A games.
AC Milan have shown an improvement in form in recent weeks and come into this match undefeated in their last 7 games in all competitions. They have picked up wins in the league away against Cagliari and Brescia and at home against Udinese. There have also been victories over SPAL and Udinese in the Coppa Italia, both of which were at home.
However, AC Milan could not defeat Hellas Verona at home last weekend in Serie A and were forced to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw. Despite playing at the San Siro, AC Milan are considered the away team for this match and have won 4 of their last 5 away league games. the wins have come against Parma, Bologna, Brescia and Cagliari.
Nonetheless, the single defeat in those 5 games was a heavy 5-0 loss at Atalanta and AC Milan cannot afford a similar performance in this match or it could be an embarrassing result.
Looking ahead to the team news and Inter Milan have 3 players suspended for this game including key striker Lautaro Martinez. Borja Valero, Roberto Gagliardini, Samir Handanovic and Stefano Sensi are all doubts.
AC Milan are without the injured duo of Léo Duarte and Lucas Biglia. Rade Krunic is the only other doubt for Stefano Pioli’s team.
There is sure to be a cracking atmosphere inside the San Siro for this match. The loss of Lautaro Martinez is a blow to Inter Milan but they should still have enough to take maximum points and we could see under 2.5 goals scored.