INTER V AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

The Derby is now upon us. There are only a few hours to go until Inter v AC Milan kicks off at 18:00 CET at San Siro. A clash that the fans will expect to be difficult and hard-fought. It is a game that traditionally deceives predictions and is capable of throwing up some surprises. The Rossoneri, who trail the top spot by four points in the league standings, face the leaders Inter and dream of claiming an important scalp. Let’s ease the tension and prepare for kick-off with our customary preview of the match.

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
There will be two significant absences for Piolo ahead of this game, who confirmed in yesterday’s press conference: the Rossoneri’s offensive options will be depleted, as two important figures in Ibrahimović and Rebić will be missing: Zlatan has not recovered from his Achilles tendon problem that forced him off early against Juventus. Ante will also remain on the sidelines due to an ankle injury that has limited him in more recent training sessions. Fikayo Tomori is back in contention, among those ‘eligible’, following meniscus surgery less than a month ago, but it will be unlikely we see him on the pitch from the first minute. Franck Kessie returns from AFCON and could play his first minutes of 2022 for the Rossoneri against Inter. Those still out include Ballo-Touré and of course Simon Kjær. The only player cautioned player at risk of suspension is Theo Hernández.

“The preparation was right – Pioli told the press at Milanello – the team knows that tomorrow’s match carries great weight and we are focused on winning. A victory would give us a lot of confidence, strength and three much-needed points on the board. Inter are playing well though and are in very good form. We have not yet shown our best and we can do better”.

LATEST FROM INTER
The Nerazzurri, who are at the top of the Serie A table with 53 points, come into the Derby with an almost complete complement of players, only having to deal with a couple of absences. The first of these was Joaquín Correa, who was left out of the Coppa Italia clash against Empoli due to a muscle problem. New signing Robin Gosens will not feature, as he still has work to do following a long hamstring injury that has kept him out since September. The three players involved with their respective national teams in South America (Vecino, Sánchez and Martínez) are back training with the group and will be available to Inzaghi, along with Felipe Caicedo, the second signing for the Nerazzurri in the January transfer window. The three cautioned are: Martínez, Vidal e Brozović.

"In the Derby, there are never any favourites irrelevant of the standings and even more so now with two strong, organised teams. - Inzaghi said in his press conference - Key moments and desire to win it will make the real difference. AC Milan were in great form going into the first meeting earlier this season, then they had a slight downturn, also due to injuries. Pioli is an excellent coach and they've played excellent games since the Empoli match."

PRE-MATCH
San Siro will of course be where the 176th Derby between Inter and AC Milan in Serie A is set. Today's match will be the 17th Inter and AC Milan fixture played in February in Serie A: 50% of those played so far have ended in a draw (8/16). The most frequent scoreline in the Milan Derby in Serie A is 1-1, the final score in 27 past meetings, including the league game earlier this season - prior to the November fixture, however, a 1-1 draw had not occurred since November 2014. The two best attacks in the league will come face to face today, Inter (53 goals) and AC Milan (47): in particular, the Rossoneri (8) and Nerazzurri (7) are the two teams in this Serie A that have scored the most goals after sequences of at least 10 passes.

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN ON TV
Inter v AC Milan will be broadcast in Italy exclusively by DAZN. On the Rossoneri channels, however, Milan TV's Matchday will cover the build-up and post-match. It will be available on SKY (channel 230), within the schedule of DAZN or Amazon Prime Video Channels. The subscription costs €3.99 per month with a fifteen-day free trial. Live coverage of the Rossoneri's pre-match build-up will begin at 16:45 (CET) until close to kick-off at San Siro. At the end of the match, there will be interviews and a press conference with coach Pioli.

From 17:55, there will also be a special event on AC Milan's Twitch channel, with Live Reaction from Francesco Specchia, Lollo, Garrincha, (live from Sanremo), Mirko Nirkiop and Tonino Bernardo. Don't miss the live stream on Twitter and coverage on acmilan.com and the AC Milan Official App.

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Marco Guida from the Torre Annunziata branch will take charge of the Derby. The Campania-born referee has a long history in Serie A, having refereed 171 matches. It will be his 30th time refereeing the Rossoneri, with a record of 13 wins, 8 draws and 8 defeats in 29 previous matches. It will be the fourth derby of his career: the first one was on 23 November 2014, which ended 1-1 with goals from Ménez and Obi; then on 21 October 2018 (1-0 Inter, Icardi) and 17 March 2019 (3-2 Inter, with the Rossoneri goals coming from Musacchio and Bakayoko). 

Serie A returns after its short break with three matches today: matchday 24 will kick off at 15:00 with Roma v Genoa, followed by the Inter v AC Milan Derby at 18:00 and Fiorentina v Lazio at 20:45. Tomorrow, Sunday 6 February, at 12.30 it will be Atalanta v Cagliari, followed at 15.00 by three matches: Sampdoria v Sassuolo, Bologna v Empoli and Venezia v Napoli. At 18:00 Udinese v Torino, at 20:45 Juventus v Hellas Verona. The Monday night fixture will be Salernitana v Spezia, at 20:45.

The current standings: Inter 53*, Napoli 49, AC Milan 49, Atalanta 43*, Juventus 42, Roma 38, Fiorentina* e Lazio 36, Hellas Verona 33, Torino* 32, Empoli e Sassuolo 29, Bologna 27*, Spezia 25, Udinese* 24, Sampdoria 20, Venezia 18*, Cagliari 17, Genoa 13, Salernitana* 10. (* one game in hand).

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