The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Inter | OneFootball

The Derby della Madonnina is upon us and this edition is expected to be an exciting one, with both sides in proper need of the three points. As always, there are some key battles that fans should keep an extra eye on.

Milan need to improve the situation in the standings to keep the top-four pursuit alive, while Inter need the win to keep up with Napoli (who are in great form). As such, today’s derby means a lot for both sides and the atmosphere should be fiery.

As always, there are a few player battles that could decide the outcome of the game. We have picked out five of these below, highlighting why these are important and which players are likely to be involved.

The key battles

Starting at the back, from Milan’s perspective that is, Kyle Walker will make his debut for the club and it’s certainly quite the game to make it in. Federico Dimarco loves to get forward and also has a great cross on him, so the Englishman will have to stay close to the Italian.

Of course, the two have squared off before, more specifically in the Champions League final between Man City and Inter in 2023. Walker’s side prevailed in the end so perhaps that will be an extra incentive for Dimarco to do well tonight.

In the centre of the defence, Marcus Thuram will be up against Strahinja Pavlovic and while the latter has been in good form lately, he’s also quite rash. This is something that the Frenchman could take advantage of with his experience, so the Serbian will have to be careful. Lautaro Martinez, of course, has also been in great form and could target Pavlovic at times.

Photo by AC Milan

In midfield, Tijjani Reijnders usually has a slightly more advanced position than his midfield colleagues and could thus be important in limiting Hakan Calhanoglu. It looks like the Turkish international will start despite the injury doubts, and Tammy Abraham will no doubt be important here too.

As for Milan’s attack, Christian Pulisic is the undisputed leader as Rafael Leao continues to struggle for form. The American scored from out of nowhere against Dinamo Zagreb, showing what he can do when he gets some space, and Alessandro Bastoni will be hot on his trail tonight.

Finally, Tammy Abraham has a lot of weight on his shoulders as the starting striker tonight, especially with the new signing Santiago Gimenez watching on. He will obviously be important in the defensive phase but above all, we need to see him fighting for balls in the penalty area and opening up space for his teammates with runs.

Without a doubt, he should target Stefan de Vrij, the weak link in Inter’s defence.