31/20 draw 23/10 7/4
The Italian Serie A rarely brightens up our television screens and what was once one of the biggest derbies in world football is now a match less preferred too than a mediocre English Premier League fixture. The Milan derby, known as “Derby della Madonnina” in Italy, has been one of the most noted rivalries in world football for decades. However, both Milan sides have failed to live up to their status as giants of Italy in recent seasons and have been completely outshone by current Serie A champions Juventus. In Milan, the derby will never lose its significance as the match represents city pride. AC Milan’s supporters are traditionally drawn from the working classes and the trade unions, while Inter fans have tended to be from the more prosperous areas of the city. What makes this derby unique is the fact that the clubs share the same stadium, San Siro. Sunday’s derby will be Roberto Mancini’s first match in charge of Inter Milan since returning to the club he coached between 2004 and 2008, and will be Filippo Inzaghi’s first derby as coach of AC Milan.
AC Milan find themselves in dreadful form having not won a single match in their last four attempts. That run includes three draws with Fiorentina (home), Cagliari (away) and Sampdoria (away) and a 2-0 loss to Palermo in their last home match. They lie seventh on the table, with 17 points from 11 games, 11 adrift of leaders Juventus. The seven-time European champions finished in a disastrous eighth position in Serie A last season, which cost both Massimiliano Allegri and Clarence Seedorf their jobs. Like their neighbours, the Rossoneri seemed to be mired in an interminable transitional period, after selling off a host of top players in the past few seasons. Inzaghi, previously coach of the club’s Under-19 team, provided fresh impetus and seemed to bring out the best in Japanese forward Keisuke Honda, who scored six goals in their first seven matches. But their last four games have seen Honda failing to find the net and Fernando Torres out of sorts. Torres’ sole goal since arriving from Chelsea was on his debut and he has struggled to leave behind his uninspiring form at his previous club. However, Torres is not fully to blame as he does not get the service he requires and looks determined on the field by always trying to win the ball and create his own chances. Midfield stalwart Nigel De Jong could be missing with injury for this crucial match. The 29-year-old is suffering from ongoing hamstring problems which saw him left out of the Dutch national team ahead of their Euro qualifying matches last week. Capable Chelsea loanee Marco van Ginkel is expected to replace his compatriot in the starting line-up.
Inter Milan have taken drastic action to regain their former status as Italy’s top side by sacking manager Walter Mazzarri and replacing him with former boss Mancini. Mancini was highly successful in his first stint at the San Siro, winning three Serie A crowns in a row and two Coppa Italia trophies. Mancini’s return to Inter is somewhat of a surprise, but the pedigree of the man cannot be doubted at all. As a player, he was a craftsman and a leader, and he successfully transformed himself into one of his country’s premier coaches at a young age. Mancini’s good efforts as Manchester City manager obviously did not go unnoticed by Inter. The Nerazzurri currently sit ninth in Serie A after also winning only four of their opening 11 league matches. Having finished fifth and qualified for the Europa League in their first season under coach Mazzarri in 2013/14, the current season was supposed to be the launch pad for Inter, but a 7-0 win over Sassuolo turned out to be a false dawn, and Inter went on to lose 4-1 at home to Cagliari, and 3-0 at Fiorentina, before spluttering into gear with single-goal wins over Cagliari and Sampdoria. The Parma defeat and Verona draw at home which followed, however, sent the Nerazzurri back into crisis mode.
Prediction: Inter Milan
It’s in attack where both sides have stuttered in recent weeks but Inter have been a shoulder above Milan in terms of scoring goals at the San Siro with 15 compared to Milan’s six. With both sides lacking quality in defence thus far we should expect a winner, especially looking at the last 20 head-to-heads where there has been just one draw. Inter Milan have had the better of AC in those last 20 meetings with the Black and Blues recording 12 victories to the Red and Blacks’ seven. Inter are tipped to come out victors at a valuable 7/4.
Written by Wayde Dorkin
