AC Milan vs Inter Milan preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

Inter Milan will savour the chance of being crowned Serie A Champions when they face city rivals, AC Milan at San Siro on Monday. 

The Nerazzuri currently sit at the top of the table on 83 points, 14 points more than second-placed Milan who are on 69 points. A win for Milan will mean Simone Inzaghi’s side will have to wait one more match to be crowned champions, while a win for Inter mean they will emerge as Italian Champions at San Siro with five matches to go. Victory for Inter will also see them tally with Napoli to become the earliest team to be guaranteed top spot in Serie A, the first time it’ll be happening in successive seasons in the Italian top-flight.

If crowned Champions at San Siro with five games left, the Nerazzuri will become the joint-earliest to be crowned Scudetto champions, equalling previous records held by Napoli in the 2022-23 season as well as Juventus in the 2018-19 season, Fiorentina in the 1955-56 season, Torino in the 1947-48 season and Roberto Mancini’s led Inter side in the 2006-07 season.

After recording a streak of five successive defeats, Stefano Pioli will aim to end his disastrous record against Inter having become the coach to lose the most matches in the Derby della Madonnina across all competitions. Pioli guided Milan to a meagre three victories in 14 matches while losing nine times in that run.

Milan head into this game in a run of three matches without a win. The 3:1 aggregate loss to AS Roma in the quarter-finals of the Europa League saw the Rossoneri eliminated from competition which also squashed any hope of winning a trophy this season.

Pioli’s side also recorded a disappointing 3:3 draw to relegation-threatened Sassuolo in their last Serie A outing.

Milan, who have conceded the most goals by any team in the top seven in the Serie A table, were already two goals down inside the first ten minutes at the Mapei Stadium. Rafael Leao halved the deficit before Sassuolo extended their lead to 3:1. Two goals from Luka Jovic and Noah Okafor saved the Rossoneri’s blushes from suffering two consecutive losses away from home.

They now gear up to bear the “show spoilers” tag when they host an Inter side that are unbeaten in their last 26 League matches, including the recent 2:2 draw against Cagliari.

On a positive note, the Rossoneri have not lost a League fixture since February and have recorded only one loss in their last 17 Serie A matches.

They will be on course to spoil Inter’s party, especially on home soil as Pioli will look to avoid six successive defeats to his bitter rivals. The last time a Milan team suffered six consecutive defeats was in the late 1940s and a loss to Inter could once again overshadow Pioli’s inconsistent stint with the Rossoneri despite winning the League in the 2021-22 season.

For Inzaghi’s side, they were held to a 2-2 draw against Cagliari at San Siro in their last Serie A outing.

Marcus Thuram had given Inter the lead in the 12th minute before Cagliari drew the tie level in the second half through Eldor Shomurodov.

Hakan Calhanoglu thought he had secured all three points for Inter after scoring a 74th-minute penalty only for Nicolas Viola to equalise for the away side late in the second half to keep their survival hopes alive.

The Nerazzuri have now scored in their last 40 matches in the Serie A and with six games to go, they will look to break Juventus’ record of scoring in 44 consecutive matches in the League.

Despite both Milan teams winning 19 titles apiece, never before has the Scudetto been decided in the Derby della Madonnina and this match will set the precedent for bragging rights in seasons to come.

AC Milan Vs Inter Milan match details

• Date: Monday, 22nd April, 2024
• Location: Milan, Italy
• Venue: San Siro
• Kick-off time: 18:45 PM UTC, 12:15 AM IST, 19:45 BST, 20:45 CEST
• Referee: Andrea Colombo
• Assistant referees: Filippo Meli and Stefano Alassio
• Fourth official: Davide Massa
• VAR: Valerio Marini
• Assistant VAR: Maurizio Mariani
• Tickets: Match going supporters can buy AC Milan tickets from the club website or via a trusted reseller such as Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• Milan hold the historical advantage in the overall head-to-head having won 115 of the 309 matches in this fixture, just one victory more than Inter’s 114 wins.

• The Nerazzuri have lost just two of their last 12 matches against Milan across all competitions, winning eight, drawing two and losing two.

• Milan have scored just one goal in their last five games against Inter.

• Inzaghi’s side have won the last five Derby della Madonnina across all competitions while conceding only one goal in that run with an aggregate score of 12-1.

• Pioli’s side have failed to find the back of the net in six of their last eight Derby della Madonnina.

• Serie A top scorer, Lautaro Martinez, has scored eight goals against Milan, the third-most he has scored against any side in the Serie A. The Argentina International is also the third-highest scorer in Milan Derby history.

• Inter’s 20th Scudetto title will mean the Nerazzuri will become just the second Italian side to wear the coveted two-star emblem on their jersey after Juventus.

Team news

For the home side, Malick Thiaw will not feature in this match due to suspension while Simon Kjaer is a doubt for the match after being forced off with a flexor problem in the draw against Sassuolo last week.

In the absence of Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori or Pierre Kalulu could be called to replace the suspended Germany International.

Inter have an almost full squad except Juan Cuadrado who remains sidelined with a lengthy injury.

Club captain, Martinez and centre-back, Benjamin Pavard will return to the squad after serving a suspension in their draw against Cagliari.

The return of Martinez will see the return of his strike partnership with Thuram while Alexis Sanchez will return.

Predicted starting lineup

AC Milan predicted starting lineup:

Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Gabbia, Hernandez; Bennacer, Reijnders Loftus-Cheek; Pulisic, Giroud; Leao.

Inter Milan predicted starting lineup:

Sommer; Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez

Prediction

With Milan leading the head-to-head with 115 wins over Inter’s 114 wins, Monday’s clash will provide the two teams with the opportunity to either extend their historical advantage in this tie or draw level with an equal number of victories in this encounter.

Inter have been dominant in this fixture recently and have not lost a game against Milan since 2022 in a 3-2 loss during Milan’s title-winning season.

The Rossoneri on the other hand will look to avoid a sixth successive defeat against their arch-rivals and will do everything to avenge their 5:1 loss in the first-leg of this clash.

This will be a highly intense and derby-worthy clash and goals are expected to be in flurry.

We’re predicting a 3:2 win for Milan.