AC MILAN v INTER: MATCH PREVIEW
Champions League
We've been wating for this day since 18 April, when the final whistle blew at the Maradona, opening the way for a Euroderby. Today. It's the day of the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between AC Milan and Inter, and it's sure to go down in history. Get all the lowdown ahead of kick-off at 21:00 CEST with our Match Preview:
LATEST FROM MILANELLO
AC Milan's run to the semis: second in Group E (10 points); Tottenham in the round of 16 (1-0 and 0-0) and Napoli in the quarters (1-0 and 1-1). The Rossoneri have just come through a big test in Serie A, beating Lazio in the league, which was vital in the race to finish in the top four this season. The only negative note from that 2-0 win, however, was the injury to Leão. He is going through recovery now, but should he miss the game, then Saelemaekers is more than ready to step in. Pioli will likely go with his usual 4-2-3-1: Krunić in midfield, Bennacer further forward and Díaz on the right.
"The game will be tough but entertaining," said Stefano Pioli in his pre-match press conference. "I've tried to instil determination in my team, but also the joy at playing in a match like this. We've knocked out Tottenham and Napoli; we can knock anybody out. We're expecting the atmosphere at San Siro to be electric. The fans will drive us to give our all from start to finish."
LATEST FROM INTER
Inter's run to the semis: second place in Group C (10 points), Porto in the Round of 16 (1-0 and 0-0) and Benfica in the quarters (2-0 and 3-3). The Nerazzurri were victorious last time out in the league, beating Roma 2-0 at the Olimpico to go into fourth. Inter are in a rich vein of form, having won five straight games (including the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi) and scored 17 goals in that period. Inzaghi looks set to go with Džeko alongside Martínez up front in his 3-5-2, while Lukaku should start on the bench. The real selection headache is between Brozović and Çalhanoğlu in midfield.
"It's such an important game," Inzaghi said. "We know what the derby represents and that it will be decided over 180 minutes. We need to play with our hearts and our heads. We've won and lost to AC Milan. They're not just a team that plays on the counter, they can play. They move the ball around well, so we'll need to play well in all phases of the game."
WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN ON TV
In Italy, AC Milan v Inter will be shown on Amazon Prime Video and TV8 at 21:00 CEST. Starting at 19:30 CEST, until kick-off, there's all the build-up on Milan TV's Matchday. After the game, we will have interviews and Stefano Pioli's post-match conference.
LATEST FROM THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
And then there were four, the best teams in the competition this season. AC Milan v Inter is, in terms of time, the second semi-final. The first was Real Madrid v Manchester City, who went toe-to-toe at the Bernabéu last night; it ended 1-1 thanks to goals from Vinícius Júnior and Kevin De Bruyne respectively.
REFEREE
The 39-year-old Spaniard, Gil Manzano, will take charge of the game. He will be assisted by Barbero and Nevado as linesmen, and Sánchez as fourth official. Munera (assisted by Hernández) is on VAR duty. Manzano has refereed the Rossoneri on three occasions; the most recent was the 3-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb at San Siro in the current Champions League campaign. His first was the victory away at Rio Ave on penalties in Europa League qualifying in 2020/21. He has never before officiated a match involving the Nerazzurri.
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