San Siro set for mellow Milan derby as Rossoneri contest Inter
Published:
Lee Gormley | January 29, 2016
AC Milan v Inter Milan
- Serie A
- Sunday, January 31st
- Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
- San Siro, Milan
- Live on BT Sport 1
San Siro set for latest Milan derby
With both AC Milan and Inter Milan coming into this Sunday’s latest Derby della Madonnina at the San Siro in underwhelming form, Serie A points could be shared with two of the last three meetings ending level.
The Milan derby may not hold the prestige and glamour it once did when these two Italian giants were contesting for both domestic and European supremacy, but vital points are at stake as Inter look to keep in touching distance with the front-runners, especially leaders Napoli.
Sinisa Mihajlovic’s Rossoneri have dropped to sixth place in the standings, currently residing eight points adrift of a desired Champions League spot, but they are 9/2 with Coral to overcome their city rivals with both teams scoring.
Share of spoils in Milan?
Roberto Mancini’s Nerazzurri occupy fourth place and have won just two of their previous seven outings across all fronts, but they are 19/10 to secure a morale boosting victory, having prevailed in the reverse fixture last September.
Inter also come into this derby duel on the back of a 3-0 Coppa Italia humbling at the hands of league champions and second-placed Juventus, while their opponents edged a narrow 1-0 triumph over Lega Pro outfit Alessandria in midweek.
With a recent history of stalemates in this fixture, and a lack of high-scoring affairs, 9/4 can be had on another share of the spoils at the San Siro’s showpiece event, a result which both outfits may take at a crucial point of their respective campaigns.
Mancini backs season recovery
Mancini’s men have been poor in previous performances, but the determined Italian is confident his side can overturn form and fortunes sooner rather than later, with defeat to their bitter rivals set to be a hammer blow to whatever title hopes were still remaining.
“Unfortunately there are times when things just don’t go your way and that is not because the lads are playing badly,” stated the former Manchester City boss.
“We are putting in a lot more running that we did at the start of the season. Some teams struggled early on and we are having a bit of trouble now.
“Let’s try and get through this period as quickly as possible and string a run of wins together to get us back up there. We are capable of doing that so we need to keep calm.”
Goal threats still on show
Despite the struggles of both Milan clubs, there are still plenty of goal scoring threats in each set-up, and the San Siro crowd will hope to see a better showing than earlier encounters, with only five goals being scored in as many past derbies.
Mauro Icardi may be Inter’s skipper and leading frontman, but the Argentine attacker is yet to dispatch past the Rossoneri, and he is 9/5 to bag his maiden derby strike anytime, while new signing Eder is 11/2 to net last on his possible debut.
For Mihajlovic’s side, Colombian hitman Carlos Bacca is his main attacking danger, and he is 5/1 to open proceedings, with former misfiring Liverpool loanee Mario Balotelli 23/10 to get on the scoresheet anytime in this latest Derby della Madonnina.
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