With two points separating Inter and AC Milan at the top of Serie A, there really is everything to play for in this Saturday’s huge Milan derby.
The Rossoneri have been in indifferent form over the last couple of months, having failed to win in their last three games. Meanwhile, a newly invigorated Inter have continued to close the gap under boss Leonardo, a former il Diavolo player and more recently manager himself. The Nerazzurri have claimed 37 of a possible 45 points under the Brazilian, to put themselves right back into title contention.
Speaking ahead of the game, Milan midfielder and ex- Inter trainee, Andrea Pirlo admitted that while “the derby is always a special game” this one was all the more special as “it could decide the title this year”. A notion that leaves the World Cup winner experiencing, by his own words, “great palpitations ahead of it.”
There’s added focus on the Serie A too, given the rather lacklustre title races being witnessed in France, Germany, Spain and even England. But one man who will be out of the focus come Saturday evening is AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The mercurial Swede, and one time Inter hero, will have to watch the game from the stands as he continues to serve a suspension for violent conduct.
And Ibrahimovic had few words of encouragement for his Milan teammates going into the game either. ''Milan is the best team in Italy,'' Ibrahimovic explained, ''But we have made so many mistakes recently. If we don't win the scudetto it is all our fault.''
In truth, confidence isn’t particularly high amongst those following the Rossoneri. Excluding Zlatan’s contributions, Milan have mustered just 1.44 goals per game.
In contract, new Inter signing Giampaolo Pazzini has hit the ground running for the Nerazzurri, forming an already formidable partnership with Samuel Eto’o with the pair registering a goal every 132 minutes for Il Serpente. In fact, Inter statistically have the best attack in the league having scoring 56 goals.
However, rather fittingly they will be coming up against the best defence in the league. Massimiliano Allegri’s side have conceded only 22 goals this season, with only five conceded in their last 11 fixtures.
Elsewhere, Leonardo could face a defensive selection headache. Christian Chivu is unlikely to feature for Inter, after sustaining a calf injury whilst on international duty for Romania, and Brazilian Lucio is already suspended for the fixture.
All of which means that Ivan Cordoba is likely to be drafted into the starting eleven should the 30 year old fail to recover in time. This means that he will start alongside new signing Andrea Ranocchia, who was acquired from Genoa for €12.5 million back in December.
Recent history between the teams has seen few draws between the sides. In their last 12 meetings, Milan have registered five victories to Inter’s seven.
Back in November, an Ibrahimovic penalty was enough to see Allegri’s men claim all three points despite the sending off of Ignacio Abate for the visitors. The question remains, will a Zlatan-less Milan cope with an Inter team boasting Eto’o, Pazzini and a newly fit Wesley Sneijder?
Potential Line Ups:
AC Milan: Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Gattuso, Van Bommel, Seedorf, Boateng; Pato, Robinho.
Inter Milan: Julio Cesar; Maican, Ranocchia, Cordoba, Zanetti; Thiago Motta, Cambiasso, Stankovic; Sneijder; Pazzini, Eto’o