European Football at Stake in Milan Derby
cristiano barni / Shutterstock.com
In many ways it has been another disappointing season for both Milan clubs but Inter Milan and AC Milan meet on Saturday in an attempt to qualify for the Europa League next season.
Champions League qualification is out of reach for both these clubs now and the focus must be on finishing fourth or fifth, positions currently taken by Atalanta and Lazio. Inter come into this match in seventh place, 4 points behind fifth place Atalanta and Milan in sixth place, 2 points adrift of La Dea.
Recent performances and results have cost Inter and they are three games without a win in Serie A. Having been held 2-2 by Torino, Stefano Pioli’s team lost 2-1 at home to Sampdoria and 2-1 at lowly Crotone, a team battling to avoid the drop this season.
These results mean it is four wins in the last ten Serie A games for Inter, a run which has seen them drop out of the race for Champions League football. A negative result in this match could see them fall further behind the Europa League places and bring a premature end to their season.
Milan come into this match in slightly better form than their rivals. Vincenzo Montella’s team are unbeaten in their last three Serie A games, winning two and drawing one. The victories came at home against Genoa and Palermo while the draw was a disappointing 1-1 at bottom of the table Pescara.
Therefore, both clubs have dropped points against teams in the Serie A relegation zone and this sums up the type of season they have endured.
Having lost at home to Cagliari 2-1 in mid-October, Inter went on a run of eight victories at home in Serie A, including impressive wins over Fiorentina and Lazio. However, a tremendous 7-1 mauling of Atalanta was flanked by defeats to Roma and Sampdoria.
Milan have won their last four Serie A matches in a row at the San Siro and despite being classed as the away team in this match, are still playing at their home stadium. Milan have tasted defeat only three times at the San Siro in Serie A this season and will not want to add to that tally by losing the derby.
Inter have been very entertaining to watch this season and have scored at least one goal in fifteen of their last sixteen Serie A games. The only club to prevent Inter from scoring a goal during that period of matches was defending champions Juventus. However, defensively Inter have struggled and you must go back seven league games to find their last clean sheet.
Milan have also had their scoring boots on recently, finding the back of the net in each of their last nine Serie A games. The Rossoneri have also kept four clean sheets during that run of fixtures, which suggests their defence is tougher to break down than Inter’s.
In terms of team news, Inter will be hoping Roberto Gagliardini returns to the team in midfield but Milan will have to make do without Giacomo Bonaventura, Ignazio Abate and Andrea Bertolacci who are all injured plus the suspended Mario Pasalic.
The meeting between the teams ended in a 2-2 draw earlier in the season and everything is pointing towards a similar result in this game. Three of the last five Serie A matches between the great rivals have ended in a draw and a draw with both teams to score makes a good bet.
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