Milan vs Inter 2nd February 2025: Serie A Preview and Prediction
This Sunday (2 February), the 242nd meeting between bitter rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan takes place at the San Siro, with kickoff at 5pm GMT.
Going into the Derby della Madonnina, Inter look to continue their title challenge with Napoli, whereas Milan aim to move back into the European places.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of one of Europe’s most passionate games.
The Form
Last season, Inter claimed the Serie A title with victory against their hated foes, in a 2-1 victory which saw three red cards and huge celebrations at full-time.
Life with a second star above the crest – in Italy, teams get one added for every tenth league title, last season being Inter’s 20th championship – has been interesting.
With just one loss in the league, and their chances at a treble of league, cup and UEFA Champions League still on, Inter have so far been one of Europe’s form teams this season.
Two of I Nerazzurri’s three defeats in all competitions were served by their city enemies, as AC Milan claimed a 2-1 league victory in September, and beat them in the Supercoppa Italiana Final earlier this month in Saudi Arabia to prevent four successive Supercoppa successes.
Despite this, it is Inter who have been the dominant force this season, with a staggering eight wins from their last nine league games and a fourth-place League Phase finish in the Champions League, despite being one of the competition’s lowest-scoring sides.
A comprehensive 3-0 triumph over Monaco on Wednesday closed out their European adventure until the Round of 16 kicks off next month.
They currently sit three points behind Serie A leaders Napoli, albeit with a game in hand, meaning victory could potentially see them depose Gli Azzurri at the league’s summit.
Still, life has not been too shabby for AC Milan either. With a first Supercoppa since 2016 already in the bag, Sérgio Conceição has settled in well since replacing Paulo Fonseca last month.
Dramatic turnarounds against Como and Parma – scoring twice in stoppage time against the latter – have seen two wins in four for the Portuguese manager, although they did also lose at Juventus between those.
Last Wednesday did see a notable stumble, as the Rossoneri lost away at Dinamo Zagreb to miss out on automatic qualification along with their city neighbours.
That result meant they must now get past Dutch side Feyenoord over two legs if they are to progress to the Last 16 proper.
Currently, they are on for a lowest league finish since 2016, lying in seventh place and two points behind Fiorentina for the final European spot.
With Bologna and Roma also battling for European football, Milan are now under pressure to avoid a first season without the allure of Europe since 2019.
The Managers
To say Simone Inzaghi has revolutionised Inter in his tenure would be underselling what the 48-year-old has achieved in almost four years.
When he arrived from a trophy-laden period at Lazio in May 2021, Inter had just been crowned with the scudetto for the first time in eleven years.
Since, he has finished in the top three for each of his seasons, claiming the title last season, and won a domestic double for two of the seasons.
Arguably an even greater achievement has been his European record; Inter had lost the 2020 UEFA Europa League Final to Sevilla, but failed to get past the Group Stage the following season.
Inzaghi first took them into the knockout stages for the first time since 2012, losing to eventual finalists Liverpool.
Then, the 2022/23 season saw them topple Porto, Benfica, and their city rivals to make the Final, where Manchester City narrowly edged them out in Istanbul.
His celebrated status at the Giuseppe Miazza is even more remarkable when you consider his older brother: Filippo, memorably one of AC Milan’s most cherished stars.
There is good reason that Inzaghi, also known as "Il demone di Piacenza” (The Demon of Piacenza), came third in the 2023 Best FIFA Men’s Coach awards, only behind Pep Guardiola and Luciano Spalletti.
By comparison, Sérgio Conceição is still getting his feet under the table at the San Siro.
As mentioned, he has already nipped the Supercoppa from the black-and-blue side of the city, and his league form has been sturdy so far.
His predecessor, Paulo Fonseca, garnered just 7 wins from his 18 games in charge, with four defeats in the league punctuated by impressive European results against Real Madrid and Club Brugge.
He failed to build upon the title-winning success brought by Stefano Pioli, and was given the chop just before the new year.
Conceição rose through the ranks at some of the lesser lights in Portugal’s Primeira Liga, with the likes of Olhanense and Académica, before moving onto the more established Braga and Vitória Guimarães.
A move to Nantes in Ligue 1 came calling in 2016, where he impressed on his way to a seventh-place finish, and then spent a prosperous seven years at FC Porto, picking up 11 trophies and 3 league titles whilst there.
Part of the new breed of Portuguese coaches including Man United’s Ruben Amorim, Conceição prides his sides on their attacking, possession-based style, but will be concerned with his side’s propensity to concede first.
In fact, despite the largely positive results for AC Milan since he took over, his side have gone behind in six of their eight games under his stewardship, including their derby victory in the Supercoppa.
A further point is that many of the club’s starters, such as Christian Pulisic, Alvaro Morata and Theo Hernandez, have reportedly been angered by his approach, with captain Davide Calabria voicing his frustrations on the pitch following their win over Parma.
The Threats
Inter Milan have scored 55 goals in the league this season, more than any other side, and have much of thank from their attacking threats.
Marcus Thuram has been a revelation since his move from Borussia Mönchengladbach, scoring 13 last season and already equalling that total this time around.
Likewise, Lautaro Martínez has 15 goals in all competitions thus far, now entering his seventh year with the club.
Plenty of striking ability lurks on the bench, with Joaquín Correa and Mehdi Taremi joining the veteran Austrian dynamo Marko Arnautović.
Denzel Dumfries is third-highest goalscorer with 8, mixing with defensive duties, whilst Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Kristjan Asllani forming an Eastern European midfield.
However, it isn’t just their creative prowess that has seen their success; they have conceded an average of 0.86 goals per game in Serie A, only Napoli having a lower total.
Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni have seven years between them in age, but have formed a watertight relationship at the back so far, supplemented by the likes of Benjamin Pavard and Yann Aurel Bisseck.
Yann Sommer has done well in replacing longtime shotstopper Samir Handanović, who left at the end of the 2022/23 season.
AC Milan boast Pulisic, Rafael Leão and Tammy Abraham as formidable striking options, with Samuel Chukwueze also in good form of late.
Abraham scored the Supercoppa winner in the 93rd-minute against Inter, and hopes to continue tormenting Milan’s adversaries on Sunday.
The big news may come at the back, where Kyle Walker is potentially in line to make his debut following his loan switch from Manchester City last Friday.
Though Ruben Loftus-Cheek is still injured, another former Chelsea alumnus in Fikayo Tomori adds steel to the spine of the squad.
American midfielder Yunus Musah was red-carded in Croatia on Wednesday, and looks to atone for his error aided by 10-goal marksman Tijjani Reijnders and Algerian international Ismaël Bennacer.
Alvaro Morata is still at the club, but reports linking him with a move to Galatasaray are intensifying daily, and Feyenoord’s Santiago Giménez is rumoured to be on his way to Italy.
The Verdict
The Milan derby is always a fiery spectacle, but with the stakes on this one potentially so high for both clubs, we could be in for a cracker.
AC Milan simply have to pick themselves up from last week’s disappointment in Zagreb, and Inter hold the superior form of the two. However, Inter have lost both grudge matches so far, and Conceição will certainly organise his side to be tough to break down.
The game will be available to watch live on both TNT Sports 3 and the OneFootball app.