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

AC Milan will host Inter Milan at San Siro in Serie A matchweek 23 on February 2nd as they hope to record their third consecutive victory against Inter in the 242nd Derby della Madonnina.

Milan started the season with the hope of reclaiming the Scudetto for the first time since the 2021-22 season, where Stefano Pioli inspired the club to their first league title in 11 years and their 19th overall.

Three seasons later that feat of achieving that feat looks to be waning, having finished fourth in the 2022-23 season and second in the 2023-24 campaign, so fans with AC Milan tickets aren’t confident.

This season, the appointment of former As Roma and Lille manager, Paulo Fonseca was met with much optimism as fans were eager to see the Portuguese manager replicate his impressive playing style at the San Siro.

On the back of impressing during his two-year stint with Lille, Fonseca was handed an opportunity to return to Serie A, having previously managed Roma.

However, the appointment of the 51-year-old manager did not go as planned, having recorded only 12 wins in his 24 games in charge.

The 1-1 draw against his former club, Roma, appeared to be the final straw for the backbone as he was officially handed the sack with Milan well off the top-four zone.

With 274 wins from 379 games for FC Porto, the Rossoneri hierarchy saw Sérgio Conceição fit to take over the reins of the club, and the Portuguese is not performing badly either, with some memorable feats already achieved in his four games in charge.

A Christian Pulisic strike and Federico Gatti’s own goal guided his side to a 2-1 win against Juventus in the semi-final of the Supercoppa Italia.

Then came one of the most memorable games in Milan history at the final, where a spirited performance late on saw his side rally from two goals down to secure a 3-2 victory against Serie A champions Inter Milan in the Supercoppa Italia final.

However, Milan dropped points for the first time under Conceição in the disappointing 1-1 draw against relegation-threatened Cagliari. They had to fight back from a goal down for the third time in four games to secure a 2-1 win against Como courtesy of Theo Hernandez and Rachel Leão strikes.

As a clash with city rivals Inter is coming up in February, Milan aim to secure maximum points in their next games against Juventus and Parma to boost their slim top-four chances.

Inter are being given a run for their money as their title defence is becoming more competitive by the week.

The appointment of former Inter boss and four-time Serie A winner, Antonio Conte, at Napoli would mean the Nerazzurri’s quest for their 21st Scudetto will become even tougher as Conte is renowned for challenging for the title.

This is evident in Gli Azzurri’s performances this season, where their 47 points is the most by any team in the league, three more than Inter.

Along with Napoli, Atalanta are also pushing as serious title contenders this season, currently sitting in third place on 43 points, only one point behind second-placed Inter.

However, one thing that always sets the Nerazzurri apart is their combination of resolute defence and clinical attack.

Although Napoli’s 12 conceded goals are five less than Inter’s 17, their defensive solidity is even more evident in the fact they’ve only lost one game in Serie A this season, the least by any team.

Simone Inzaghi’s side are on an incredible run of results. Since losing 2-1 to Milan in September, the Nerazzurri have not lost any game in Serie A. The 4-4 draw against Juventus was arguably the most entertaining match of the season, but they need to achieve more victories against top sides to usurp Napoli in first place.

They bounced back from their disappointing 3-2 loss to Milan in the Supercoppa Italia final with a 1-0 win over Venezia, but disappointments rose again after Bologna’s Emily Holm 64th-minute strike denied the Nerazzurri two points in the game.

With must-win matches against Empoli and Lecce coming up, Inzaghi will hope those games begin a run of winning streaks that could include Milan, who they’ll face again on February 2nd.

AC Milan vs. Inter Milan match details

• Date: Sunday, 2nd February, 2025
• Location: Milan, Italy
• Venue: San Siro
• Kick-off time: 5:00pm GMT
• Tickets: AC Milan vs Inter Milan tickets are expected to sell-out but fans can still buy them through trusted resellers like Seatsnet.com.

Match stats and head-to-head

• Inter’s 2+ goal-scoring streak, which started in the 5-0 win against Verona, ended in the game against Venezia on January 12. They’ve netted at least two goals in six of their last seven games in Serie A.

• Milan are unbeaten in their last seven games across all competitions, winning four and recording three draws.

• The Rossoneri are on a six-game scoring streak. The last time they failed to score a goal was in the 0-0 draw against Genoa in Serie A.

• Inter have a superior head-to-head advantage in the Derby della Madonnina, winning 91 out of the 241 games against Milan’s 81, while 69 of these fixtures have ended in a draw.

• After a run of six consecutive victories against Milan, Inter have now suffered back-to-back losses against their city rivals.

• Milan have come back from behind to win three of their last four games in all competitions.

• Theo Hernandez’s 71-minute strike against Como was the France international’s 30th goal in Serie A, surpassing Paolo Maldini to become the club’s highest-scoring defender.

• Inter have found the back of the net in their last 31 games played at the San Siro.

Team news

Milan faced a setback in Como as Christian Pulisic, Alvaro Morata, and Malick Thiaw were all forced off due to injuries. Thiaw, in particular, is expected to miss several games in a big blow to the side.

Matteo Gabbia is likely to step in to partner at the heart of the Rossoneri’s backline. While there remains hope that Pulisic might recover in time for Saturday’s high-stakes clash, Morata is confirmed to be unavailable—both due to injury and suspension—ruling him out against one of his former clubs.

The injury woes persist, with Samuel Chukwueze, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Alessandro Florenzi also remaining on the sidelines.

For Inter, Inzaghi will be without some of his key players in midfield, including Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who are unavailable due to thigh injuries.

Additionally, Davide Frattesi faces speculation of a potential mid-season transfer, adding uncertainty to Inter’s midfield.

On a positive note, French duo Benjamin Pavard and Marcus Thuram have recovered from recent injuries, providing a boost to the squad. However, Yann Bisseck and Joaquín Correa remain sidelined, limiting Simone Inzaghi’s options further.

Predicted starting lineup

AC Milan predicted starting lineup:

Maignan; Emerson, Tomori, Gabbia, Hernandez; Fofana, Bennacer; Gimenez, Reijnders, Leao; Abraham.

Inter Milan predicted starting lineup:

Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Zielinski, Dimarco; Martinez, Thuram.

Prediction

Inter have been impressive this season with only one loss in 19 games. With a game in hand, they’ll hope to avoid any slip-ups in their next run of fixtures to close the gap on table leaders Juventus.

They’ll be raged with revenge when they meet Milan at San Siro and they’ll put up their best performance to avoid dropping points for the second game in a row.

Milan, on the other hand, have been full of confidence since the appointment of Sérgio Conceição. The Portuguese manager is yet to lose a game, and he’ll hope to extend that run when he leads Milan against Inter on 2nd February.

We’re predicting a 2-0 win for Inter.