The duel between Inter and Milan for the top of the Serie A table, which has been going on for more than two years, continues tonight. Stefano Pioli’s team wants to leapfrog the city rival in the table, and Simone Inzaghi’s chosen ones intend to escape the Rossoneri by four points after five rounds. A defeat opens numerous problems for either of the two teams, while a draw in the current situation does not allow the application of the philosophy: better two wounded than one dead.Land of Milano, 2022The epic duel is about to take place again.#ForzaInter #MilanInter #DerbyMilano pic.twitter.com/IiBuo56H60— Inter (@Inter_en) September 2, 2022 It seems that today, despite the fact that Inter has a point advantage, Simone Inzaghi is under a big test. In Milan and in the world of the Nerazzurri, the first signs of resentment and dissatisfaction towards the coach are already beginning to be heard. The undivided opinion is that Inzaghi lost the Scudetto precisely in the derby with Milan, when he made the wrong changes to allow the Rossoneri to turn around the lost game and trace the path to victory. Inzaghi’s lack of substitutions was also seen in the match against Lazio when Sarri gave him a lesson in reading games and making moves by looking at what is happening on the pitch.Inter get a defender and he is…an AC Milan supporter?The fact is that Inzaghi has a problem with big and crucial games. Whenever there is a stop-and-go in the championship, the coach of Inter calls it quits. In the first two Milan derbies Inzaghi won only one point, and we have to go back to 1993 to find the Nerazzurri coach who failed to record a victory in the first three clashes with the city rival, as Inzaghi, and it is Oswaldo Bagnoli (two draws and one defeat). A possible failure of Inzaghi tonight would not open a crisis in Inter, but it would put an additional burden before the start of the adventure in the Champions League against Bayern. In this context, Lukaku’s injury came at the worst possible moment for the vice-champion of Italy.Pride and passion blend together, our faith will never fade 🔥 #ACMilanIsForever ❤️🖤 #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/izyMT1t9t7— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 2, 2022 And Pioli has his own problems. Two draws in the first four matches, a poor performance against Sassuolo and an unsolved question on the right flank, where the Rossoneri coach is forced to choose the always less bad solution between Saelemaekers and Messias. Last season, Milan was lucky not to pay the price for seriously low amount of goals scored by centre-forwards, and the big question is whether it is realistic to repeat the success of the previous season with Giroud at the age of 36, the eternally injured Origi, Ibrahimović in his fifth decade of life and the unstable Rebić leading the line.US investment fund RedBird completes 1.2 billion euro AC Milan takeoverAccording to the announcements, both clubs will start the match with senior strikers, Milan with Giroud and Inter with Edin Dzeko, who has not yet scored a goal in this championship (the only one among the attackers). One of the two dilemmas surrounding Inter’s line-up refers to Lautaro Martinez’s partner. Dzeko is in the lead, but Correa can still hope to be in the starting line-up. A lot is expected from Charles De Ketelaere. From the first day of the Belgian’s arrival in Milan, Kaka has been a player with whom he has been compared, so it is not surprising to insist on the fact that the Brazilian made his debut in Milan against Inter. Apart from De Ketelaere, special spotlights will be on Rafa Leao, the hero of the 19th Scudetto who has not yet scored a goal against Inter.Lebron’s Italian job: Believe it or not, the NBA star ‘buys’ AC MilanAfter last year’s derby victory that paved the way for Milan to the Scudetto, Stefano Pioli has a chance to become the first coach to beat Inter twice in a row since 2011.On Inter’s side are the last two matches in the semi-finals of the Italian Cup, played in April, in which Inter not only secured a place in the final, but did not allow the Rossoneri to score a single goal. It is interesting that Milan’s last victory as a host in league matches dates back to 2016 when Siniša Mihajlović was sitting on the bench, since then there have been three draws and three triumphs for Inter. Milan has won five games at San Siro in Serie A (between the last and current championships), and since 2014, they have failed to tie six games with three points at home. Inter did not draw in the last 13 matches in Serie A, 11 wins and two losses.SERIE A – MATCHDAY 5Saturday16.00: (3.10) Fiorentina (3.20) Juventus (2.60)19.00: (2.80) Milan (3.35) Inter (2.75)21.45: (3.00) Lazio (3.40) Napoli (2.55)Sunday 13.30: (3.25) Cremonese (3.40) Sassuolo (2.40)16.00: (3.05) Spezia (3.35) Bologna (2.55)19.00: (2.14) Verona (3.50) Sampdoria (3.80)21.45: (4.20) Udinese (3.60) Roma (1.99)Monday 19.30: (6.25) Monza (4.30) Atalanta (1.61)19.30: (2.40) Salernitana (3.35) Empoli (3.30)21.45: (1.84) Torino (3.70) Lecce (5.00)***odds are subject to change
