AC Milan vs Internazionale Preview

The Champions League returns to the San Siro this Wednesday with city rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan facing off in the UCL for the first time since 2005.

The last time both sides met in the UCL was in 2005, a tie that went AC Milan’s way after the second leg was abandoned when Inter fans launched flares onto the playing area. Things should be better this time, with the two clubs competing in the fourth Derby della Madonnina of the season not assured of UCL qualification next term via the league.

AC Milan qualified for this round by beating the more fancied Napoli 2-1 on aggregate. That result showed that they have a knack for playing big Italian teams.

They proved that again at the weekend with a 2-0 win over second-placed Lazio. The win against Maurizio Sarri’s men made it nine games unbeaten for Stefano Pioli’s side (W4, D5) who will be confident of winning here as they have not tasted defeat as a home team since February.

However, Inter Milan has had the better of recent head-to-head contests (W3, D1, L1). The Nerazzurri qualified for this round thanks to a 5-3 aggregate win over Portuguese entertainers Benfica.

They will now look to build on winning three of the last four meetings with their fellow San Siro residents’ to nil’ (L1) to give themselves a good start in this tie.

But while they seemingly have the advantage based on recent overall H2H meetings, they haven’t won as the ‘away side’ at the San Siro since February 2021 (D2, L1). Despite being the nominated away side on the day, Inter will start as favourites after winning their last five matches, four of them without conceding. At the same time, they’re also unbeaten in seven competitive away games (W4, D3).