Stadio San Siro is ready for a classic, high-voltage derby as arch-rivals Milan and Inter are set to fight for a place in UEFA's showpiece event. A real heavyweight clash between two historic Italian titans just feels right, as the romantic football lovers say, "football heritage," and it's going to be a fascinating affair.
The cross city-rivals dispatched Napoli and Benfica standing in their way in the quarter-finals, respectively, to set the highly anticipated derby at San Siro. Inter Milan currently sits in the fourth place in the Italian top-flight, with 63 points, two ahead of fifth-placed AC Milan.
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Milan come into the game off the back of an impressively comfortable 2-0 victory against fellow top-four rivals Lazio at the weekend, however that came after a 1-1 draw against second-from-bottom relegation threatened Cremonese, which pretty much sums up their inconsistency, and feeble Scudetto defence this season.
Nevertheless, the main worry heading into this derby clash is that Milan could be without his star winger Rafael Leao on Wednesday night after the Portugal international was forced off due to adductor problem in the win over Maurizio Sarri’s side last weekend.
Should he miss out, it will a major blow for AC Milan as Leao was the driving force behind their superb Champions League run, having been involved in 26 goals across all competitions this campaign.
As for Inter, Simone Inzaghi's side went on a shocking run of form from the end of February to the middle of last month, losing five of seven Serie A games, including dismal defeats at home to Juventus, Fiorentina and Monza.
However, the Nerazzurri have bounced back in style since, with four wins on the spin and only one goal conceded in the process. They have beaten Empoli 3-0, Lazio 3-1, Hellas Verona 6-0 and most recently Roma 2-0. Strikers Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez are both in a rich vein of form, and have shown signs of their deadly chemistry that fired them to a Scudetto glory in the 2020-21 season.
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This will be the first meeting between the Milan giants in the Champions League since 2004/05 campaign, a quarterfinal clash won by the Rosonerri, whose second leg was called off due to livid Inter fans throwing flares onto the San Siro pitch.
What's more, the sides have already played each other five times this season, with Inter Milan winning three, AC Milan winning one and the other ending in a stalemate.
AC Milan vs Inter Milan confimed lineups
AC Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Hernandez; Tonali, Bennacer; Krunic, Saelemaekers, Diaz; Giroud
Inter Milan XI (3-5-2): Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Dzeko, Lautaro
AC Milan vs Inter Milan LIVE updates
AC Milan and Inter Milan's upcoming games
Away from their Champions League endeavours, both Milan teams are embroiled in a tightly-contested top-four race in Serie A. With Napoli elected as new Scudetto champions, it leaves as many as six teams battling it out for three remaining Champions League qualifying spots with four matchdays left to play.
So, both AC Milan and Inter can't afford any slip-ups in their weekend Serie A games against Spezia and Sassuolo, respectively. However, should either side wins the Champions League crown this year, their spot in next season's competition will be automatically confirmed.
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