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

AC Milan and Inter will contest Derby della Madonnina number four of the season tonight as they meet in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.

Milan are having a dire season by recent standards, yet the derby has provided some positive moments as they have won two and drawn one. The victories included a late winner in the first league meeting, and an added-time goal to clinch the Supercoppa Italiana, the club’s 50th trophy.

The gap that has opened up to the top five spots in the league means that the Coppa Italia takes on some extra importance, because winning it guarantees a place in the Europa League. It would also add a sweet ending to a bitter campaign overall.

The five key battles

We start with the man who was the hero that night in Riyadh back in January: Tammy Abraham. It is somewhat of a surprise that he is expected to lead the line given he didn’t do much against Napoli (albeit with little service) and with Santiago Gimenez expected to be back to 100%, but Conceicao is tipped to retain faith in the Englishman.

With every game towards the end of the season there is the sub-plot of trying to earn a permanent stay. Stefan de Vrij will be the one hoping to make sure that Abraham does not get much of a sniff, with the ex-Chelsea man having impressed in the first league derby too. The Dutch defender, meanwhile, was the one who scored the late leveller in the 1-1 draw in February.

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Marcus Thuram is the de facto leader of the Inter attack given the absence of Lautaro Martinez, and he has already hurt Milan, firstly by choosing Inter in the 2023 summer window. The Frenchman has scored two goals in four derbies. Only against Torino (four) and Lazio (three) has he bagged more among the teams he’s faced most often, while he has 16 goals in all competitions in 2024-25.

His opponent is likely to be Malick Thiaw, who was a big miss from the starting XI for the Napoli game as he came down with a bout of sickness overnight before the game. The German remains linked with a summer exit and so this could be his penultimate or even last derby (depending on availability for the return leg), but for now he will just focus on keeping a rare clean sheet.

Moving into the midfield, someone who could really do with an improved performance is Youssouf Fofana. He was Milan’s great hope from the summer window, expected to provide balance and a bit of creativity in the double pivot. However, it feels like his battery was quickly exhausted after 30+ starts in a row, and now the Frenchman is stuck in a cycle of underwhelming outings.

Simply put, he cannot afford to have an off-night tonight against the engine in Simone Inzaghi’s midfield: Nicolo Barella. He has the most assists in all competitions this season for the Nerazzurri with eight, and against Milan the Italian already has three goal involvements to his name: a goal for Cagliari and two assists for the Nerazzurri.

At the moment, the media are reporting that Christian Pulisic is the man who will get the nod to play as the attacking midfielder, leaving Tijjani Reijnders in a deep role. Pulisic has already scored in two derbies this season – both of which ended in wins – and he remains the creative heart of the attacking line even despite some ‘quieter’ games under Conceicao.

If he does indeed take up a central role, there should be a tasty duel with Hakan Calhanoglu, who remains the deeper-lying presence in the Inter midfield trio. The Turkey international has a spiky past with the Rossoneri, as has already been written about at length, while his 13 goal contributions (nine goals, four assists) this season – plus his set pieces – show he is a danger man too.

Finally, we come to Milan’s ultimate danger man in Rafael Leao. Some eyebrows were raised when the coach left him out against Napoli given his past against that opponent (he eventually came on at half-time), and Inter are another team he knows well. The Portuguese winger has faced the Nerazzurri 18 times across all competitions with three goals and three assists to his name.

Many say he was the spark for the Supercoppa comeback in Saudi Arabia, and it seems it will be up to Yann Bisseck to try and limit the influence that Leao has on the game. Inzaghi has regularly rotated the centre-backs this season but Bisseck appears to be someone with big potential, and it could certainly turn into quite the heated duel if both are up for it.