AC Milan vs Inter Milan Match Preview
So much rides on the Milan derby on Saturday, but Milan can only thank themselves for unduly raising the stakes. Inter had given Milan an immense opportunity to pull clear at the top by a margin of seven points two matchdays ago. Inter dropped two points against Bresica, but Milan could only draw with Bari, and followed that result up with a disastrous defeat to Palermo.
As a result of that profligacy, Milan could well be overtaken by their bitter rivals Inter. They will be without the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Andrea Pirlo returns from injury, even though he is expected to start on the bench. Another player who is returning after a long lay-off is Gianluca Zambrotta, and he is the favourite to take the place of Luca Antonini as left-back.
Milan’s expected line-up: Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, T. Silva, Zambrotta; Seedorf, Mark van Bommel, Gattuso; Boateng, Robinho, Pato.
Inter’s expected line-up: Cesar; Maicon, Ranocchia, Chivu, J. Zanetti; Esteban Cambiasso, Thiago Motta; Pandev, Eto’o, Sneijder; Pazzini
The key to this game will obviously be how Milan handle the pressure. Inter will be going in with significantly less pressure, as they are in the ascendancy after a horrible start to the season. Given that they are in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and Milan are out of the tournament, Inter have already started to compensate for an erratic Serie A campaign, which has seen them consistently pursuing the leaders for the first time in five seasons.
Prediction: A tense game will end in a stalemate. 0-0.