Saturday April 2nd 2011, 7.45pm GMT (live on ESPN)
The final Milan derby of the season won't just be of interest to fans of the two teams involved on the night. The fact that AC Milan have dropped five points in their last two games means that third and fourth-placed Napoli and Udinese will also have a keen eye on this match-up between first and second in Serie A.
On Saturday evening, Leonardo will face the club which he was coaching this time last year for the first time. Not many have been brave enough to make the switch from one Milan club to the other, and the Brazilian has drawn some criticism for moving to his old rivals. Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso was asked recently whether he would ever consider moving to Inter: "Anything can happen, but not this," he replied. "I would rather go work in a kitchen."
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| Gattuso: "I wish Leonardo well, but I also hope that he doesn't win anything with Inter." |
Another professional who has been involved with both clubs - Zlatan Ibrahimović - has had his recent three-match ban reduced to two on appeal, but this means that he will still have to sit out the derby. I speculated before the Palermo-Milan game that Ibrahimović’s ban may be timely considering his lack of form of late, but the fact that coach Allegri’s alternative attacking options failed to find the net against Palermo suggests that the Swede’s absence could prove damaging for Milan. Cassano, Pato, Boateng and Robinho all featured for the Rossoneri in Palermo, but the home side still managed to keep a clean sheet for the first time in nine games. One positive for Milan is that Inter's key central defender Lúcio is also suspended for this game.
The last time these two met, Inter were in disarray under Rafa Benitez and Milan cruised to a 1-0 win despite having to play the final 30 minutes with ten men. This time, Milan haven't managed a win since their lacklustre exit from the Champions League at Tottenham and they are without their top scorer who scored the winning goal in the last derby. Incidentally, none of the last fourteen Milan derbies have ended in a draw.
Inter are aiming to win their sixth scudetto in a row, and their momentum has been impressive at this crucial time of the season. They have reduced a huge points deficit between themselves and Milan to just two since Leonardo's arrival, and the Nerazzurri have also become only the second team in Champions League history to lose at home and then go through by winning away in a second leg. While the Milan derby is always difficult to predict, Inter look the more solid unit heading into this game.
Prediction – Inter to win – 3pts
Match odds: AC Milan 7/4
Draw 2/1
Inter 8/5
AC Milan: Last 5 Serie A Results
19.03.2011 – Palermo 1-0 AC Milan
13.03.2011 – AC Milan 0-0 Bari
05.03.2011 – Juventus 0-1 AC Milan
28.02.2011 – AC Milan 3-0 Napoli
20.02.2011 – Chievo 1-2 AC Milan
Inter: Last 5 Serie A Results
20.03.2011 – Inter 1-0 Lecce
11.03.2011 – Brescia 1-1 Inter
06.03.2011 – Inter 5-2 Genoa
27.02.2011 – Sampdoria 0-2 Inter
19.02.2011 – Inter 1-0 Cagliari
