We’re back and what a match to restart with! The Derby della Madonnina! I’m excited for this, even more so with a mostly healthy squad. The team has been limping for the last month and a half. Can they turn it around?
MATCHDAY:
LAST FIVE
INTER: LWWWW
MILAN: WDDWD
FORMATIONS
INTER (3-5-2): Sommer; Akanji, Acerbi, Bastoni; Augusto, Barella, Calhanoglu, Sucic, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez (C)
MILAN (3-5-2): Maignan (C); Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlović; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modrić, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leão
TIME/LOCATION
TIME: 2:45pm EST/6:45pm GMT
PLACE: Stan Siro, Milano
WHERE TO WATCH:
***New season, so tell me if this needs to be updated***
Paramount+ and FuboTV here in the US of Aye (Spanish broadcast on Fox Deportes in the US); FuboTV and TLN for Canada; TNT in the UK (maybe?); ESPN for Mexico; DAZN for Germany, Austria, Switzerland; a website called GXR for our friends in India; and illegal streams that support dictators and oligarchs everywhere.
*Let us know if this needs updating or if you have additional broadcasters to add*
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
I said a lot about where Milan are at the moment in the Wellness Check from a couple of days ago, so head over there if you want a little more context. But in general I called for Allegri to get more tactical in how he approaches things. Today, however, things should be pretty straightforward.
With a potent opponent and slacking a striker, Allegri is using two wingers up top. Considering both of these things, the only rational approach to this match is to sit back and counter. And after that, sit back and counter some more. Everything is lining up for that. When they do find themselves in Inter’s final third, this is where it gets complicated. Does Milan try to dribble through Inter’s defense? Do they stay wide and fire in crosses, hoping to find a red and black head or boot? Do they fire a bunch of shots from distance? Or is the goal when in the final third to somehow generate a lot of dead ball situations either via corner or foul? This is what I’ll be watching for.
On defense, I’m really excited to see what our midfield does to them. Last year, with Milan turning around their fortunes vs Inter after years of struggle, Fonseca and then Conceição laid the blueprint for how to neuter Inter’s attack, namely by dominating the midfield and shutting down Barella and Hakan. With a stronger midfield this season, and hoping Rabiot can make Fofana useful again, I hope to see total domination here and therefore a stout defense, one that limits Inter’s quality chances. Here’s hoping anyway.
PREDICTION TIME:
I ‘m thinking a tight game, like 2-1 in either direction but a draw is definitely a possibility with how Allegri has been approaching things. With Roma winning earlier, if Milan don’t want to see themselves 5 points back of the top of the table, they got to take all 3 points today. Let’s go get them. Inter merda.
Forza Milan
gillis