The Milan derby, Inter Milan vs AC Milan, will be held this Sunday, December 22, 2013 (11:45 AM Pacific), at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium. Although both teams are far from the fight for the title, they will give everything in order to win the derby, which is a very important game for the fans.
Inter arrives to the match in 5th place (15 points behind the leader Juventus), after losing 4-2 against Napoli and with a 5-game streak of no wins where they have tied 4 times. Without any hope of winning the Serie A title, and not playing any international tournaments, their greatest expectation is to get a place for the UEFA Champions League 2014/2015. That will be difficult task taking into account that they would have to finish the tournament at least in 3rd place, while Juventus, Roma and Napoli all seem to be playing much better than Inter.
Meanwhile, AC Milan have paid their greatest attention to the Champions League. In that competition, they finished in the 2nd place of group H, behind Barcelona, and they’ll have to face Atlético de Madrid in the round of 16 stage. In the Serie A tournament they’re in 10th place, nine points behind Inter, and they have won only one of the last eight matches (five ties and two losses). They don’t have any expectation about that competition; however, they do care about the derby due to the huge rivalry with Inter.
As usual in the days before the match, the fans of both clubs are very excited about the game. Inter midfielder Esteban Cambiasso said: “The derby is different to any other match. It always has a special meaning for us and for Milan, and we’ll try to do our best in order to give joy to our supporters” [source: Gazzetta dello Sport].
A key to win the match will be to stop the great strikers that will be in the pitch, mainly Rodrigo Palacio (Inter) and Mario Balotelli (Milan). AC Milan defender Daniele Bonera knows that, as he said: “Palacio is the most dangerous rival in the derby. He’s a great forward who knows how to move along the whole front of attack ”. He also spoke about Balotelli: “Mario is fine, he has grown a lot, even mentally. We’re happy about what he’s doing for the team” [source: Gazzetta dello Sport].
Probable lineups
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the probable lineups are:
Inter: 3-5-1-1 with Handanovic; Campagnaro, Rolando, Juan Jesus; Jonathan, Zanetti*, Cambiasso, Taider, Nagatomo; Guarin; Palacio.
Milan: 4-3-1-2 with Abbiati; De Sciglio, Bonera, Zapata Constant; Poli, De Jong, Muntari; Kaká; Balotelli, Matri.
* Zanetti will be playing his 47th derby (18 wins, 10 ties and 18 losses so far). He is at the second place in the list of players with more derbies played in all history, after Paolo Maldini, who played 56 derbies for AC Milan.
Inter Milan vs AC Milan Prediction
The Inter Milan vs AC Milan derby will be a tightly contested match where either side could be the winner. However, Inter have Rodrigo Palacio in a good moment, and I consider that he will be decisive in the match score. The Inter Milan vs AC Milan match will end in a 3-2 victory for Inter.
Inter Milan vs AC Milan TV Schedule
The Inter Milan vs AC Milan match will be televised this Sunday, December 22, 2013 on beIN Sport USA at 11:45 AM Pacific.
