AC Milan vs Inter Milan. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more

AC Milan will host Inter Milan in the Serie A fifth-tour match at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. The fixture will take place on September 3, beginning at 21:30 IST.

The Italian championship becomes more interesting each season. If, until recently, Juventus enjoyed unchallenged dominance and all the other teams were literally fighting for the Eurocups places, then in the last two years the competitiveness has increased significantly and the reins are now being taken in turns by Inter and AC Milan. As for this season, taking into account the latest transfers, AS Roma of Jose Mourinho and Napoli of the experienced Luciano Spalletti are likely to join this fight. Atalanta looks dangerous. And Juventus should not be written off as well, the quality is still there and their transfer activity is impressive too. However, the injury blow at the start of the season will hurt the club’s capabilities a lot.

And so the current campaign is already gradually beginning to reveal its leaders. The centerpiece of the next round of the Italian Serie A will be the Milan derby. The Derby della Madonnina is a veritable jewel of Italy, a vibrant and fierce rivalry that is over 112 years old. Last season the teams battled for the Scudetto until the very last round, with the Red&Blacks taking the better fortune that time. In the meantime, the Italian Cup went to Inter that knocked out Il Diavolo in the semi-finals. 

Now, how will this season unfold, which team will finish better and get more trophies? Parimatchnews will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

AC Milan News & Current Form: 

Milan have not been active on the transfer market. No big transfers to match the champions’ ambitions occurred. However, a promising 21-year-old talent from Belgium, Charles De Ketelaere, arrived for an impressive €32.00m. The fans expected more, but the head coach is confident in his selection.

To start with, their title aspirations are still intact – the Rossoneri’s unbeaten Serie A run has continued into the new season, now standing at 20 games. The Scudetto holders have now taken down Udinese 4-2 and Bologna 2-0, recording draws against tough Atalanta 1-1 and Sassuolo 0-0. Both of these points losses were registered outside the San Siro. 

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Although Stephano Pioli’s side took a considerable number of shots (29 in total), they failed to deliver a positive result on the road. Perhaps injuries sustained by strikers Ante Rebic and Divok Origi can be blamed for this. Olivier Giroud has just one goal so far, and by all projections, Origi should be fully recovered in time for the derby, which will give the nominal hosts additional options and variabilities. 

The absence of another forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic is also of concern. The Swede is an exceptional figure for football in general, and even more so for Italy. He has played for three of the country’s premier teams and excelled at all of them. In his absence, AC Milan have been like a cake with the cherry missing from the top. The 40-year-old has been sidelined until at least early 2023 due to surgery on his left knee, and with him the team have lost not just a technical player but also a charisma. And that is more important than, for instance, Inter’s absence of Romelu Lukaku (which is not really famous for his leadership).

Yet, let’s not forget about the true diamond of the team – attacker Rafael Leão – who became the Most Valuable Player of the 21/22 Season. With 1 goal + 1 assist under his belt already, you can expect more contributions from Rossoneri’s most valued €70.00m untouchable asset.

Speaking about the defensive performance: no team in the top five European leagues have recorded more clean sheets in 2022 than AC Milan (14). This is not surprising with such a goalkeeper at the back line as Mike Maignan. The Frenchman reflected Domenico Berardi’s shot from the 11-meter mark in the last round, and now he has 31% of Serie A’s penalties saved. He is a true master in this aspect – with nine saves to his credit in 29 penalties, he is the best goalkeeper not only in Italy but also in the top 5 of the European leagues since the 2015/2016 season.

The defenders themselves aren’t looking shabby either, with Fikayo Tomori, who joined from Chelsea in 2021, finding himself at the San Siro and becoming a truly essential сore player, doubling his market value in just one season (€50.00m).

Inter Milan News & Current Form: 

Inter’s transfer campaign has also turned out to be unremarkable. Joaquín Correa was bought out after a successful loan spell for €23.60m and on top of that three more loans with the purpose to ensure a little more depth of the squad.

Without a single appearance in the starting lineup, the Argentine was able to net two goals this season

Simone Inzaghi’s side have played their pre-season friendlies in a way that has left fans reeling: draws with Monaco and Lyon, losses to RC Lens and Villarreal. But once the official matches started, the symptomatic signs of the disorder seem to have calmed down.

The Nerazzurri, who squandered the league title in last season’s final stretch, are now are one point ahead of AC Milan before the round 5 of Serie A. Simone Inzaghi’s side started with two victories over Lecce (2-1) and Spezia Calcio (3-0). However, unlike the Rossoneri, they already suffered one setback – Inter lost away to Lazio (1-3) on 26 August. 

Interestingly, the Black and Blue conceded three goals for the first time in the league since last October, when they crashed out with the same scoreline at the Stadio Olimpico. After that, La Beneamata rehabilitated themselves with a confident win at Cremonese (3-1).

So far, only Napoli (10) have scored more than Inter (9) since the start of the new season. The best man on the Nerazzurri squad is forward Lautaro Martinez, who has 4 contributions (3+1). 

But the star newcomer Romelu Lukaku, who returned back home after an unsuccessful time in London, has so far only struck the opponents’ net just once. Moreover, frustratingly, the Belgian has sustained an injury and will most certainly not be available against AC Milan.

But the first thing Inzaghi should be concerned about is how much his men concede. The level of the Italian top flight outsiders. Lecce, now ranked 15th, have the same number of GA – 5.

It’s easy to see that as long as Nerazzurri’s calendar is relatively easy, wins are recorded against fairly average opponents. As soon as they got a more or less serious opponent, the defeat happened straight away. For Simone Inzaghi, it is all the more unfortunate because it was at Lazio that he shone as a player and then spent five years as a coach, whence he moved to Inter last summer. Still, whatever, now Signor Inzaghi should make the most of that lesson. After all, the match itself was fairly equal – it was the erratic play of the defenders that let the team down. This area is very problematic this season, they repeatedly commit a lot of mistakes. Only one match they managed to get a clean sheet. Perhaps this is a temporary blur, because in fact the line (including CDM Brozovic) consists of the most expensive players of the squad.

Here, the derby with Milan will serve as an excellent validation test. Afterwards, there will be an extremely hard encounter – against Bayern in the Champions League! In a game against such potent teams, the defense must be imperturbable in its confidence and сhemistry. It’s time to find their form.

AC Milan form guide (all comp.): W-W-W-D-W-D

Inter Milan form guide (all comp.): D-L-W-W-L-W

AC Milan vs Inter Milan Head-To-Head Record: 

AC Milan vs Inter Milan Predicted XI:

AC Milan possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori, Hernandez; Bennacer, Tonali; Messias, Diaz, Leao; Giroud.

Inter Milan possible starting lineup (3-5-2): Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko.

Statistical preview of the match AC Milan vs Inter Milan:

• AC Milan have a great home record: they were unbeaten in 23 of the last 24 games at San Siro.
• AC Milan have conceded in each of their last 8 Serie A home games against Inter.
• AC Milan remain winless in their last 6 Serie A home games against Inter.
• Inter Milan have not lost in 7 of the last 8 Serie A away games.
• Inter Milan have scored and conceded in each of their last 6 Serie A away games.
• Inter Milan have scored less than 2.5 goals in 4 of the last 5 Serie A away games.
• AC Milan have scored less than 1.5 goals in 6 of the last 7 home games against Inter.

What has been said before the match:

Stefano Pioli, the AC Milan gaffer:

“We both know each other well, so tomorrow we will see more or less the same players who starred last season. I expect a vibrant contest: the Derby is the Derby and so it will be an even contest with no clear favourite. We must not lose focus for even a second, we’ll have to move hard and fast; effort, aggression and sacrifice will all be required. Oftentimes in recent editions of this Derby, Inter have come out on top, but not necessarily because they were outplaying us. They are dangerous from set-pieces and restarts, so we will make decisions according to aspects such as these.”

“We have prepared to the best of our ability for this game, down to the smallest detail, and we will try to do our utmost to get the desired result. We are thinking only about the Derby and how we can win. To do so, we will also need to take risks. We have our game plan and we will try to execute it tomorrow with strength and energy, putting in a quality performance, which is fundamental to win these types of games. With respect to Inter, we are not afraid of them and we will show that on the pitch.”

Simone Inzaghi, the Inter gaffer:

“Last season, we played four derbies. We won the last one 3-0, allowing us to go on and win a trophy. We remember the game in the league, but no extra motivation is needed to get fired up for a derby. The lads have a lot of character and real desire to play the game. The top two teams from last year are facing each other, two strong teams with their own playing principles. During the first few matchdays, we’ve seen that all the matches are even affairs. Certain incidents will make the difference, and we need to be good at making sure they go our way.”

“The individual duels will be very important. We know what a derby represents, both for the Club and the fans. We’re in good shape going into the game and have recovered mentally and physically. Today, we’ll have our penultimate session; then, tomorrow, we’ll take to the pitch for an important match.”

AC Milan vs Inter Milan Prediction:

Both teams are clearly not at their best – the season has just begun and it takes some time to gain the optimal conditions. 

While both sides lack stability in one or another area of the field, they will try to play more cautiously, given the principality of the derby. Losing is an unacceptable outcome, and it’s better to play safe through defense than risk being discredited in the eyes of their fans.

However, Inter, in our opinion, are better prepared for the start of the season – the Nerazzurri look a bit stronger than their rival overall, look more coherent, which gives a slight advantage. They show a more intense and fluid football thanks to their better physical readiness, the availability of quality players, and Inzagni also has a very solid reserves that could only be the envy of Pioli. Capitalizing on this, the visitors have more variation, and if necessary, it will be easier to turn the game around with 5 substitutions.

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Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Inter will not lose and the match total under 3.5 – Yes.