By Graham Ruthven
Rivals by name only
Sérgio Conceição has only been at AC Milan for three months, but there is already a sense that the 50-year-old is losing his grip of the job. The Rossoneri are struggling badly for consistent form and everyone associated with the San Siro club is under pressure.
Sunday’s defeat to Napoli exposed many of the issues being suffered by Conceição’s team. AC Milan are struggling to get the best out of their attack. Christian Pulisic was anonymous against Napoli. So too was João Félix.
Defensively, AC Milan were all over the place and struggled for any sort of structure or shape in transition. This is something Inter could lay bare such is the speed and directness they have in attack.
Inter have no such problems. Simone Inzaghi’s side are on a five-game winning run in all competitions. They are top of Serie A and are shaping to be Champions League contenders. The Nerazzurri are currently the dominant force in the rivalry.
A place in the Coppa Italia final is on the line and Wednesday’s first leg will set the tone for what could be a memorable tie.
Key players
Conceição has a number of decisions to make with his lineup. Santiago Giménez came off the bench against Napoli to make an impact and could start ahead of Tammy Abraham.
Luka Jović is another who could be rotated into the team with Álex Jiménez a possible option at right back over Kyle Walker who has still to find his best form since making the January move to San Siro.
Pulisic could be a difference-maker for AC Milan. However, the USA international has recently been a shadow of the player he was in the first half of the season.
With Lautaro Martínez out through injury, it will be on Marcus Thuram to lead the line for Inter in Wednesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final. The Frenchman has scored 16 goals in all competitions this season.
Inter’s midfield of Nicolo Barella, Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will look to control the derby in the centre of the pitch. Meanwhile, Denzel Dumfries is a funnel into the attack down the right side.
Team news
Ruben Loftus-Cheek underwent appendix surgery over the weekend and will miss Wednesday’s derby encounter while Emerson Royal is still sidelined with an injury.
Yunus Musah missed Sunday’s league match against Napoli through suspension and is available again to face Inter in the Coppa Italia. The American could come into the midfield unit to provide some energy.
Martínez suffered a hamstring string on international duty with Argentina. In his absence, Inzaghi faces a choice between Joaquin Correa, and Marko Arnautović alongside Thuram with Mehdi Taremi struggling with illness.
Prediction
For all their struggles this season, AC Milan have been able to step it up in the derby games against their city rivals, so we expect a cagey encounter in this first leg. Late goals have also been a feature in both league matches this season, plus their meeting in the Super Cup. With that said, Simone Inzaghi’s side have been in brilliant form recently, so we’ll settle on a narrow ‘away’ win: AC Milan 1-2 Inter.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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