Meeting for the fourth time this season, city rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan convene for the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final on Wednesday.
A special two-legged edition of the Derby della Madonnina will decide which side heads to Rome, with either Bologna or Empoli providing their opponents in the final.
Match preview
Since a dramatic 2-1 league victory in September – when Matteo Gabbia’s late winner ended their long losing streak against Inter – Milan have fallen far behind in the Serie A standings.
With eight games to go in Italy’s top flight, the Rossoneri’s deficit stands at 20 points, and ex-Inter player Sergio Conceicao has failed to produce an improvement since taking over from Portuguese compatriot Paulo Fonseca.
Though his new team spoiled Inter’s dreams of a quadruple by fighting back from two goals down to win January’s Supercoppa Italiana final, they subsequently limped out of the Champions League to injury-hit Feyenoord and now lie as low as ninth in the league table.
Amid acrimony on and off the pitch, Milan have accrued only 47 points so far, so they face a huge battle to overcome contenders such as Juventus, Lazio, Bologna, Roma and Fiorentina in order to finish inside the top four.
Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Scudetto hopefuls Napoli – in which they trailed by two after just 19 minutes, and misfiring striker Santiago Gimenez missed a penalty – leaves them with nine points to make up, and rumours abound that Conceicao will not be retained.
However, he could change that narrative by succeeding in another cup competition, overcoming the Rossoneri’s oldest foes along the way.
Days after they came close to beating Inter for a third time this season – having preserved a lead earned by Tijjani Reijnders deep into stoppage time, only for Stefan de Vrij to pop up with a last-gasp leveller – Milan eliminated Roma in February’s Coppa Italia quarter-finals, as Tammy Abraham bagged a brace against his parent club.
The Lombardy giants – whose sole Coppa triumph in almost half a century came 22 years ago – had entered this year’s edition at the last-16 stage due to their European commitments, starting off with December’s 6-1 demolition of bogey team Sassuolo.
With the Supercoppa already secured, Milan are now intent on defeating Inter over two legs at San Siro, before improving a sub-par record in Italy’s national cup by lifting the trophy in Rome.
Of course, their counterparts from the other side of the second city will have very different ideas, being keen to reinstate their derby dominance and stay on course for a memorable treble.
Inter had won six straight derbies between January 2023 and April 2024, but Milan have bitten back with two successes this season – and only De Vrij’s last-gasp strike salvaged a draw in the most recent meeting.
The Nerazzurri set up this seismic semi-final by overcoming Udinese in the last 16, then knocking out Simone Inzaghi’s former club Lazio in the quarter-finals.
Back-up striker Marko Arnautovic scored for the second round running as the Biancocelesti were beaten 2-0 at San Siro, keeping his club on course to claim the Coppa for a 10th time in May, when they could potentially win three major trophies.
The reigning Serie A champions tightened their grip on the Scudetto last time out, returning from the international break with a 2-1 home victory over mid-table Udinese: Arnautovic was on target again, as Inzaghi rotated his squad in preparation for a frantic fixture list.
Inter must not only meet Milan twice in the Coppa semi-finals but also Bayern Munich in the Champions League – and there are still eight league games to play amid a busy schedule on three fronts.
Having won five times on the spin across all competitions, they come into their first April match full of confidence, but also aware that their Rossoneri rivals would love nothing more than to thwart them.
The Rossoneri’s boss has an almost full squad to choose from, as Alessandro Florenzi recently returned from a long layoff. However, Ruben Loftus-Cheek was rushed to hospital for appendix surgery at the weekend, and Emerson Royal is still sidelined by injury.
Available after serving a Serie A suspension on Sunday evening, USA international Yunus Musah will now vie for selection in midfield; meanwhile, Malick Thiaw hopes to overcome an illness.
Inter have Alessandro Bastoni back from a ban, but they must do without Kristjan Asllani – who is suspended for the first leg – plus injured trio Denzel Dumfries, Piotr Zielinski and Lautaro Martinez.
The Nerazzurri’s skipper needs one more goal to become only the third Inter player to net 10 against Milan across all competitions, but Simone Inzaghi has essentially ruled him out of Wednesday’s game.
With ‘El Toro’ just back in training after suffering a hamstring strain while in Argentina, either Marko Arnautovic or Joaquin Correa should deputise alongside Marcus Thuram up front – Medhi Taremi is struggling with a persistent groin problem.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Walker, Pavlovic, Gabbia, Hernandez; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Abraham
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Bisseck, Acerbi, Bastoni; Zalewski, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Arnautovic
