Italy Round 12

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Inter vs AC Milan Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Inter:
Sommer; Akanji, Bisseck, Bastoni; Augusto, Barella, Calhanoglu, Sucic, Dimarco; Martinez, Thuram

AC Milan:
Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leao

Inter will host AC Milan in the most interesting fixture this weekend in Serie A. The Milan derby, also known as 'Derby della Madonnina', is one of the most awaited encounters in world football, and both teams display great attitude in the match. It is one of only few city derbies that are always played in the same stadium (Lazio and Roma is the second). The venue is named "San Siro" when Milan are the hosts, or "Giuseppe Meazza" when Inter are the hosts. It is called "Derby della Madonnina" in honour of one of the main sights in the city of Milan, the statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of the Duomo, which is often referred to as the "Madonnina" ("Little Madonna" in Italian).

Few interesting facts about the fixture. The first derby match between Inter and AC Milan was held in the final of the Chiasso Cup of 1908, a football tournament played in Canton Ticino (Switzerland), on 18 October. The Rossoneri won 2:1. A total of 244 official matches are played between these two sides over the years. Inter have won 91 matches, Milan 82 and 71 games finished with draw. Counting only the Serie A matches, the Nerazzurri are better again. Since 1929, they have 70 wins, while Milan won 55 times. The points were shared on 57 occasions.

Inter are sharing the first place in Serie A with eight victories and three losses after the first 11 rounds. The defeats from Napoli and Juventus could somehow be swallowed, particularly because they came away from home, but the home defeat to Udinese have no excuses. Inter are also successful in the Champions League. They managed to win everything in Europe, starting from Ajax Amsterdam, continuing with Slavia Prague and Union Royale and finishing with Kairat Almaty. The atmosphere in the squad is positive, while the players confidence is high. Coach Chivu
has three injured players - Denzel Dumfries, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Matteo Darmian.

AC Milan are just two points adrift of co-leaders Inter and Roma. The current form is not bad, however, they have just one win in the last four rounds. The remaining three matches ended draw and that's a poor record, considering the opponents were teams like Pisa, Atalanta and Parma. Just before the break Milan missed a great opportunity to claim top spot in Serie A by spilling a two-goal lead in Parma. The players are not very tired as Milan don't play in Europe. Coach Alegri has almost all players available, only Santiago Gimenez is out injured.

Inter vs AC Milan Prediction:

Inter have struggled in their recent meetings with Milan, and I expect to continue that way. The Nerazzurri have failed to win any of their last five matches across all competitions against Milan. Furthermore, Milan won the last two meetings when they were "guests". The Rossoneri won 2:1 in Serie A in September 2024 and won 3:0 in Coppa Italia in April 2024. They could now win three consecutive away games against Inter for the first time since 2005. I am not sure about their victory, but I think Milan will remain unbeaten. Alegri is more experienced than Chivu and this fact should not be underestimated.

Inter vs AC Milan Pick: AC Milan +0.5 AH @ 1.91 with Pinnacle