Serie A: The Biggest Milan Derby in Years!

AC Milan vs Inter Milan

Second versus third in a big European league is always going to be box office stuff and when it’s a big city derby, it is extra special.

Throw in the fact that the hosts who are underdogs over the past few years have had their best league start ever and the visitors are Serie A Scudetto holders, then AC Milan vs Inter Milan becomes unmissable.

Stefano Pioli’s AC Milan have won 10 and drawn one of their opening 11 league games and are only second because Napoli have an identical record but with a better goal difference.

Simone Inzaghi’s Inter Milan are seven points back in third place and five clear of the chasing pack led by Roma. Meanwhile, Juventus are languishing in ninth place, 16 points behind the leaders and trying to climb out of their slump against Fiorentina this weekend.

To write off the Old Lady so early in a Serie A season seems unthinkable but I’d say we’re pretty much there. And that makes this game as near to a title decider as you could have in November.

Okay folks, that’s maybe a step too far but think on this. Should Milan win on Sunday then they will be 10 points clear of Inter and with Juve in the distance.

Of course Napoli are in pole position at the moment, but that would still be a huge result. If Inter win, then the gap is reduced to four points and can be clawed back within two weeks.

So we’re set up for a cracker at the San Siro!

Both teams were in Champions League action in midweek as Milan drew 1-1 with Porto while Inter earned a 1-3 victory away to Tiraspol.

And the pre-match Serie A 2021 betting odds give the champions a narrow advantage at odds of 2.24 to win, with Milan at 2.82 and the draw at 3.35.

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Talking Points

All time greats Milan are contenders again

With 18 Serie A titles and seven Champions Leagues there is no doubting Milan’s pedigree. But more recently, I Rossoneri have reluctantly taken the role of also-rans, finishing fifth or lower in a disappointing run between 2014 and 2020.

While they had a second-placed finish last term they never really pushed Inter, but this time around things could be very different.

With 10 wins from 11, Pioli’s team is only the fourth side in Serie A history to achieve such a prolific start to a campaign and that surely gives them a great chance to contest the title all the way to May.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to roll back the years, scoring his third goal of the season against Roma in a 2-1 win last week while Ivorian midfielder Franck Kessie added a second.

Milan rode their luck a little in a recent win over Bologna as their opponents lost their discipline and went down to 10 men while Zlatan scored at both ends of the pitch. But sometimes you need a little luck to win a title.

Inter Milan’s multiple threats

Meanwhile in the Inter camp, new head coach Simone Inzaghi has carried on where Antonio Conte left off, pushing I Nerazzurri on in both Europe and the domestic league.

While they currently trail the leaders by seven points, 24 from 11 games is a ratio which will be very close to winning the Scudetto.

Can Milan Skriniar and company defy odds in their upcoming Serie A match against AC Milan? — Milan Skriniar celebrates with Arturo Vidal after netting Inter Milan’s second goal against Sheriff Tiraspol in a recent Champions League match

Inter followed up a recent 1-1 draw against Juventus with two 2-0 victories against Empoli and Udinese before beating Tiraspol in the Champions League. And while Romelu Lukaku wrote many of the Inter headlines last term, this time around Inzaghi’s side has multiple threats.

Striker Edin Dzeko has linked up well with Lautaro Martinez, scoring seven and five respectively, while creative midfielder Joaquin Correa has four goals.

Midfield star Nicolo Barella has made five assists and, alongside him, Marcelo Brozovic does the dirty work of breaking up play and then has the creative input of launching attacks.

In defence, Federico Di Marco and Milan Skriniar are threats in attack too, scoring twice each while Di Marco has two assists and Skriniar was on target in I Nerazzurri’s win over Tiraspol.

With goals and Serie A 2021 highlights all around the pitch, Milan are sure to be contenders too.

History

The head-to-heads between these two have favoured I Nerazzurri but they have been fiercely contested. Inter have won 27 of the last 66 meetings while Milan have won 22 and there have been 17 draws.

Inter won the last meeting 3-0 on their way to Scudetto glory as Martinez, with two goals, and Romelu Lukaku put Milan to the sword.

While Milan’s league form has been magnificent, Inter have only lost one league game and Inzaghi’s side is fairing much better in Europe as they’re in a strong position to qualify for the knockout phase while Milan are currently bottom of their group.

Betting Tip

	AC Milan vs Inter Milan	AC Milan Asian Handicap 0.00 @ 2.25
	November 08, 2:45 (GMT+8)

This promises to be a belter of a game and with two teams bang in form it’s difficult to call this derby.

The double chance of Milan or Draw is at SBOTOP odds of 1.55, but I’m going for the value in a Draw no Bet option and I’m edging towards the Rossoneri.