And so they meet again. Six months after Matteo Gabbia scored a last-gasp winner as AC Milan beat Inter Milan 2-1 to secure bragging rights and barely a month since Tammy Abraham repeated the feat as the Rossoneri lifted the Supercoppa Italiana, the two city rivals square off again on Sunday night.

Italian football’s biggest game, the Derby della Madonnina, will be broadcast in more than 200 countries around the world and bring in millions of viewers. Even in calcio‘s rich tapestry there is, quite simply, nothing like it.

And with the third all-Milanese contest of the season close at hand, our resident Destination Calcio writers Dan Cancian and Emmet Gates preview each side’s form and issues going into the game.

AC Milan: New Boss, Same Problems

The French have an expression for it. Plus ça change. The more things change, the more they stay the same. That is certainly true for AC Milan this season. 

Five months after Paulo Fonseca took charge of his first Derby della Madonnina with his side desperately needing a win, Sergio Conceicao finds himself in the same position as the Rossoneri face Inter Milan on Sunday evening.

Like his predecessor and compatriot, the Portuguese has rapidly found out that his squad reacts to the circumstances, rather than taking control of games. It’s the same rollercoaster nature an exasperated Fonseca had lamented shortly before being fired in December.

Milan are the same team capable of beating Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu and fluffing their lines against Dinamo Zagreb. The same team who can meander through games, then beat Juventus and Inter in four days to lift the Supercoppa. Therein lies Milan’s great paradox. 

The Rossoneri have won both derbies this season – the first under Fonseca, the second as Conceicao celebrated his first trophy a week after being appointed – but it would be a major surprise if they were to make it three in a row.

It would be premature to suggest Conceicao’s job is under threat, but the feel-good factor generated from lifting the Supercoppa in Saudi Arabia after coming back from 2-0 to beat Inter 3-2 is long gone.

The Portuguese has cut a nervous figure of late and his anger boiled over in an unedifying public spat with Davide Calabria on the pitch after the win over Parma last weekend. The former Porto manager appears to be fighting the same futile battle that left Fonseca exhausted and, ultimately, jobless.

“This is the reality at this level,” Conceicao said in his press conference after Milan lost in Zagreb on Wednesday night. “How do you coach aggression? It’s about individual pride, personal ambition, and the drive to succeed.

“Of course, tactics and formations play a role, but that’s not the main point. We need to be much more aggressive and assertive. We need to turn things around and do better. We still have a lot to play for.”

After a typically frugal summer of spending under RedBird, Milan seem if nothing else to have grasped the urgency of the situation and have backed Conceicao in the January transfer window.

Kyle Walker is an upgrade on Emerson Royal and Joao Felix would add creativity to a pedestrian midfield, but what Milan need is goals, particularly with Alvaro Morata on the verge of joining Galatasaray on loan just six months after arriving at the San Siro. 

But Il Diavolo’s plans to sign Santiago Gimenez from Feyenoord have been complicated after they were drawn against the Eredivisie side in the Champions League play-offs. The tie against Feyenoord could go a long way towards deciding Milan’s season and Conceicao’s future.

The Rossoneri have their backs up against the wall yet again. And that’s just how they like it.

Dan Cancian

Inter Milan: Out For Revenge

If Milan go into the derby full of strife, confusion and mixed form, the same can’t be said for reigning Serie A champions Inter. The Nerazzurri’s build-up to the biggest domestic game of the season couldn’t have gone any smoother. 

Simone Inzaghi’s team eased past French side Monaco to finish fourth in the expanded Champions League format after eight games. A hat-trick from Lautaro Martinez, whose form has been very up-and-down this season, couldn’t have come at a better time.

Moreover, Inter only conceded one goal in the group phase, the best record in the competition, and while they didn’t score that many, Inzaghi’s defence repelled almost everyone put in front of them. That doesn’t bode well for a Milan side struggling for goals.

Meanwhile, Inter will be out for blood having lost twice to Milan already this season. The first Derby della Madonnina of the season ended in a surprise 2-1 ‘away’ win to the visitors, courtesy of a Matteo Gabbia header in the final minutes.

The thrilling Supercoppa Italiana victory in Riyadh also stuck in Inter’s claw, considering they were 2-0 up and coasting. 

After punishing former Milan coach Stefano Pioli by dominating the last six derby games of his reign by a combined scoreline 14-2, there’s an element of revenge for Inzaghi’s men going into the the latest instalment of the Milanese derby.

Inzaghi isn’t used to losing against Milan as Inter boss, and with Inter needing to keep on Napoli’s coat-tails atop the Serie A mountain, they can’t afford a slip up at San Siro. Especially not for a third consecutive time.

Inzaghi tended to rest many of his big-name players for European nights, but this wasn’t the case against Monaco. As many as nine players who are likely to start in the derby lined up against the French side, and this could play into Milan’s hands come Sunday.

Yet, so relentless have Napoli been under Antonio Conte this season that Inzaghi knows his side cannot afford any slip ups if they’re to retain the title.

Bar the defeat in the Supercoppa, Inter are unbeaten in the last 11 games in all competitions, a streak stretching back to early December, and haven’t lost in Serie A since the defeat by Milan in September.

While the Rossoneri are the picture of dysfunction, disharmony and jarring inconsistency, Inter are the opposite: everyone buying in, no signs of disgruntled players and matches being won time and again. The contrast couldn’t be more evident.

Yet all form and reason can go right out the window when it comes to a derby. Few would’ve expected Milan to emerge victorious twice this season, yet they have. 

The stakes are high for both; Inter need a win to maintain their battle with Napoli, while Milan need a win to ease the pressure that appears to be boiling within the club. 

Moreover, the latter need a win to keep themselves in contention for a Champions League spot, the bare minimum for the season. Inter smell blood in the water, and revenge will be the word for Inzaghi and his men on Sunday evening.

Emmet Gates