Following the disappointment in the Champions League, AC Milan will be looking to respond with a statement in the Derby della Madonnina against Inter. In fact, they could make it three out of three wins against the Nerazzurri this season.
The defeat to Dinamo Zagreb mid-week seemingly sparked a reaction on the transfer market, with Santiago Gimenez now secured, and the likes of Davide Calabria and Alvaro Morata are set to leave. For now, however, the team will have to be fully focused on the derby.
Speaking to the media at his press conference, Conceicao admitted that he’s been annoyed by ‘lies’ in the media in recent weeks. However, he made it clear that the players must focus solely on the game, which is difficult to achieve.
The last few days, as alluded to above, have been rather hectic as many players have been linked with departures. It has resulted in great uncertainty with regard to the squad for Sunday’s clash, seeing as Calabria and Morata have been confirmed on the outgoing front.
Who will even start in the derby? This has been the main question of the Milan fans in recent days but as the situation has calmed down a little, we now seemingly have an answer to this. Alessandro Florenzi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Emerson Royal are still injured, it should be noted, while Youssouf Fofana is suspended.
In defence, one of Malick Thiaw and Matteo Gabbia should recover in time for the game, with the Italian being the most likely. However, as Tomori reportedly has rejected Spurs, he’s now the primary candidate to partner up with Strahinja Pavlovic in the heart of the defence.
Kyle Walker is expected to make his debut for the team, starting at right-back, and he certainly knows a thing or two about playing a high-stakes derby. His experience will likely come in very handy, the only worry is his physical condition.
Following some initial doubts, with two draws and the defeat to Milan in the first five games, Inter have certainly picked themselves back up and are now flying. They are unbeaten in their last 16 league games and have dropped points in just three of these, which says a lot.
In the Champions League, Simone Inzaghi’s men managed to secure a top-eight finish (4th) after losing just one game (6W, 1D). Having two fewer games to play will certainly help them in the Scudetto race, just three points behind league leaders Napoli with one game in hand.
Tomorrow’s game will undoubtedly be an opportunity for revenge as well, having lost the reverse fixture and the Supercoppa Italiana final against Milan. Indeed, the derby dominance has completely shifted this season after years of great success for the Nerazzurri.
