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

The big game between AC Milan and Inter, also known as the Derby della Madonnina, will take place tonight. It’s a very important game for both sides, though especially the Rossoneri, and below are five key battles that could decide the outcome.

Indeed, after one win in five games, Milan need to turn things around with a win. Paulo Fonseca is hanging on by a thread and the latest reports suggest that he might not keep his job even with a win, needing to beat the Nerazzurri convincingly. Below are five key battles that we have identified for the game…

The key battles

Starting at the back from Milan’s perspective, it’s clear that Emerson Royal will have his hands full with Federico Dimarco. The latter has recovered from his minor injury and will be a very important player for Inter, not only with his great crossing but also his movement. And as we all know, Emerson Royal hasn’t exactly impressed in the defensive phase.

Staying in defence, Matteo Gabbia will replace Strahinja Pavlovic alongside Fikayo Tomori and the Italian will have the difficult task of marking Lautaro Martinez. The latter is yet to score this season and will be eager to break the drought in one of the biggest games there is.

In the centre of the park, we all know that Tijjani Reijnders isn’t exactly the strongest midfielder in the defensive phase and thus he will have to keep a close eye on Nicolo Barella‘s movements. Equally, the Dutchman will be looking to fool the Italian with his movements in the attacking phase.

Further up the pitch, Rafael Leao must show a lot more than he did against Liverpool and this will involve beating Benjamin Pavard, as well as Denzel Dumfries. The winger has it in him, as we saw in added time against the Reds, but he needs to make a difference from the start tonight.

Finally, while Alvaro Morata will be very important, a more interesting battle will be between Tammy Abraham and Francesco Acerbi. The latter gave Erling Haaland a hard time against Man City and the Englishman will be looking to use his pace as well as dribbling to gain an advantage.