Milan x Inter

TIME: 12:00pm EST/5:00pm GMT

PLACE: San Siro, Milano

WHERE TO WATCH:

Paramount+ and FuboTV here in the US of Aye and Canada, BeIn for our Aussie pals, ESPNPlay for our fellas in T&T, JioTV for our Indian leoni, and illegal streams that support dictators and oligarchs everywhere.

*Let us know if this needs updating*

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

There’s lots to watch for! Quality players up-and-down the pitch for both sides. Now, I usually share what I’m looking for here but wanted to get my colleague and ol’wise one (and everybody’s Nonno!), Michael Lisi, to share his thoughts before I dive into mine. Here’s what Lisi had to say about the match…

Lisi: Inter have won the last 4 in this series and Milan has looked pretty bad in all of them. To be far in most of those Milan were in some level of disarray in each while Inter was on a roll. Both teams are unbeaten but I would have to say Inter look just a level above Milan at the moment.

The midfield battle should be great. I think inter have the best midfield in the league but Milan’s newly formed group has hot the ground running. Reijnders especially looks top notch. The Milan defense has been shaky though. The loss of Tomori to a red against Roma and the questionable status of Kalulu doesn’t help.

My heart says we see a wild back and forth 2-2 draw but I think Inter nips one late and steals a 3-2 win. No wait that sounds horrible. I can’t start my weekend like that. I’ll stick with the 2-2 draw. Yeah I can live with that.

I echo Lisi’s concerns about the defense and the lack of speed on Milan’s right side means I think Pioli playing a high line could be playing with fire against the speedy Inter attack. Here are some other things I’m thinking about and will be watching for:

• I’m hoping Lautaro has found his Argentina scoring boots during the international break because his 2023-24 Serie A scoring boots have been on fire
• Dumfries vs Theo is ALWAYS fire. These two guys DO NOT like each other and we’re all the beneficiary of it. Rarely is this matchup a push and who gets the upper hand usually has a big say in which team wins the match
• Milan didn’t have the type or quality of attack in their last 4 vs Inter, which allowed Inzaghi to press hard and really only worry about Leão, and to a lesser extent, Brahim, breaking his lines. That’s not the case now. While I’m worried about Milan’s defense, and rightfully so, a potent and dangerous attack is its own form of defense and I think Inzaghi should be thinking about that as well. Maybe it makes him a little bit more cautious…or at least it should
• Inter’s CBs have been abused by Leão in the past, and while slow-ass Skriniar is gone, just-as-slow Acerbi is still there and the smaller Darmian will have difficulty physically holding off Leão. I’m expecting a lot of Milan’s attack to go through the right side initially but once Inter realizes Milan ACTUALLY have a right side now and will have to honor that, look out. It’ll be the Leão Show
• Lastly, while I’m sure RLC will continue to impress, I’m not sure what to expect from Reijnders. Roma’s physicality last match threw him off his game and I’ve seen Inter’s midfield hack down plenty of guys, so how this plays out will have a big impact on how much this game is played fast and in transition and how much is played more like a chess match – slow and calculating

I haven’t been throwing out any predictions with all the new pieces but what the hell, here it goes: I think there’s too many good players on the pitch for it to be a low scoring match, so I’m going with a 3-2 Milan WIN. 

Alright, that’s enough talking. Time to do this!

Forza Milan!

gillis