Inter will host AC Milan on Sunday evening for the first derby of the season with Rossoneri coach likely playing his first and only derby.
It is time for the first Derby della Madonnina of the season between AC Milan and Inter. While Inter have started the new season on a high note leading Serie A and equalizing with Manchester City in the Champions League, the situation is quite dramatic on the Rossoneri side with only one victory for Paulo Fonseca’s squad.
The 51-year-old Portuguese coach will very likely be sacked if he doesn’t win the derby, a feat that his predecessor failed to achieve in the last 6 matches. Fonseca is aware that he is playing his last cards and that’s why he is planning something new for the derby. Unlike the first five games of the season, Fonseca will deploy a 4-4-2 squad for the derby with emphasis on the attack.
Mike Maignan has fully recovered and he will start from the first minute between the posts. Captain Davide Calabria is injured and once more it will be Emerson Royal to play on the right with Theo Hernandez on the other flank. Matteo Gabbia, Fikayo Tomori and Srahinja Pavlovic are fighting for the two remaining spots in the back line with the Serbian international likely to stay on the bench.
Tijani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana will form the central duo in midfield. The French international is having a slow start to his career in Italy. He has found it difficult so far to impose himself like in Ligue 1 and his physical form is obviously not at 100%. Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic are set to start on the wings with Fonseca asking the two to contribute also in midfield.
It looked like it would be a battle between Tammy Abraham and Alvaro Morata for the centre forward role but Fonseca seems oriented to play them both from the first minute in the derby. It is a bold move from the Portuguese coach with AC Milan often demonstrating their lack of balance in defence to support such an hyper attacking formation.
AC MILAN (4-4-2): Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Tomori, Theo; Pulisic, Fofana, Reijnders, Leao; Morata, Abraham.
INTER (3-5-2): Sommer, Pavard, Acerbi, Bastoni, Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Di Marco, Thuram. Lautaro.
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