The Serie A scheduling gods were kind this year, not making us wait long before giving us the first Derby della Madonnina of the season. Yes, it’s time for the Milan Derby, as Inter Milan and AC Milan get set to square off, and the famed San Siro rocks with more than 80,000 fans wearing either Inter’s nerazzurri colors or Milan’s opposing rossonero shirts.
A.C. Milan vs. Inter Milan 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The biggest rivalry in Italian football is back. Inter Milan and AC Milan square off in perhaps the most important edition of the Derby della Madonnina to be played in years.
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While both teams have fallen on hard times in recent years, this is still one of the most famous rivalries in the world. Both sides of Milan share the same stadium, and twice a year they play each other with league standing and the ultimate bragging rights on the line. Even during the down years, these games have been intense and hard-fought, with neither team willing to let the other have an easy victory in this bitter rivalry. Now with both teams are trying to return to competitive relevancy, and a win over the other at this crucial early stage of the season could be vitally important to that goal.
Inter have edged the rivalry over the years, with 76 wins in official matches to Milan’s 74, and 63 draws between the two teams. That’s a close-fought battle over the last century, with the rivalry dating all the way back to October of 1908 in the Chiasso Cup. Neither team could get a win last season, and the pair split the honors with a 1-0 win apiece two years ago. Over the last decade, Inter have won both league Derby matches four times, with Milan earning a clean sweep just once, in the 2010-11 season that saw the rossonero lift their 18th Serie A title. Those six points proved decisive, as that was Milan’s exact lead in the standings over second-place Inter come the end of the season.
Key Inter player — Stevan Jovetic
Inter have scored three goals through their first two Serie A matches so far this season, and all three have come from Jovetic. Their new striker has turned back the clock to his Fiorentina heyday, playing exquisitely after two frustratingly unproductive seasons with Manchester City. He’s been sprightly and active and damned hard to slow down, and with Milan’s defense still not seeming entirely settled and comfortable with one another quite yet, Jovetic might just have another goal or three coming in this match.
Key Milan player — Carlos Bacca
Milan’s biggest summer signing money-wise hasn’t drawn the acclaim that his new strike partner Luiz Adriano has, but that doesn’t mean he’s played poorly. No, instead he’s drawn so much attention from defenders that it’s made Adriano’s job much easier to do, and both men scored in Milan’s first win of the season against Empoli just before the international break. Now against a shaky-looking Inter back four, Bacca could be set for a big day — if he can lead Milan to a win in the Derby, he will be an instant legend with the rossoneri faithful.
What’s at stake
Both sides of the San Siro spent a lot of money over the summer to try to turn into title challengers again, and they’ll be expecting results for that investment. The first step on that journey back to glory is to aim for a finish in Serie A that qualifies for a trip to the Champions League — but there are only three such spots in Serie A, and two of those spots look pretty well tied up for Roma and Juventus for this season, even in light of Juve’s slow start to the season.
A win in this match doesn’t just lend Inter or Milan Derby bragging rights until the two teams meet again later in the season — it gives them a big leg up early in the race for that third and final Champions League spot. This isn’t just any old edition of the Derby della Madonnina — this year, these matches could either lift the winners’ season or help see it fall away into dust.
Inter Milan injuries and suspensions
Out: Miranda (knee), Dodo (knee) Nemanja Vidic (back) In doubt: Mauro Icardi (thigh)
AC Milan injuries and suspensions
Out: Andrea Bertolacci (thigh), Luca Antonelli (hamstring), Jeremy Menez (hip), M’baye Niang (foot) In doubt: none
Both sides are battered right now, with Miranda, Bertolacci, Antonelli and Menez all representing fairly significant absences for their respective sides of the San Siro. While Miranda is the only Inter player of that group, his injury might be the most significant, because Inter don’t have the quality in their center back depth to deal with life without him right now — they’re so desperate not to play the underwhelming Andrea Bertolacci, in fact, that midfielder Gary Medel has been in defense in training this week, although he does play in defense for the Chile national team.
Match Date/Time: Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: Stadio San Siro, Milan, Italy
TV: beIN Sports (U.S. - English), beIN Sports en Español (U.S. - Spanish), Sky Sport 1 HD Italia, Sky Calcio 1, Sky Supercalcio HD (Italy), BT Sport Europe (U.K.), RAI International
Online: fuboTV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S. & Canada), Sky Go Italia (Italy)
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