Preview: AC Milan vs Inter Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

Taking a last shot at stopping their city rivals racing off into the distance, AC Milan will meet Serie A leaders Inter Milan for a Sunday night showdown at San Siro.

This season's second Derby della Madonnina comes with both sides vying for the Scudetto, but Milan trail Inter by 10 points and simply must win to stay in contention.

Match preview

After a 1-0 defeat to Parma recently ended Milan's 24-match unbeaten run in Serie A, the Rossoneri managed to avoid another setback last weekend, against the last team to beat them in Italy's top flight.

Cremonese had surprisingly won at San Siro on the opening matchday, but late strikes from Strahinja Pavlovic and Rafael Leao reversed that result and stopped Milan falling 12 points behind the league leaders.

Max Allegri's men had previously needed a last-gasp winner to beat lowly Pisa, before scraping a home draw with high-flying Como, so they have struggled to match Inter's momentum.

While they have only lost twice in Serie A, their Nerazzurri rivals have been beaten four times so far, but Allegri's side have also drawn on eight more occasions - and that has resulted in a 10-point deficit.

Now set to 'host' their stadium-sharing foes, Milan have posted just one win from their last four home fixtures - another late goal saw them edge past Lecce in mid-January.

Yet, the Rossoneri can reflect on a major turnaround in second-city derbies, having previously suffered several painful defeats at the hands of Inter.

Across all competitions, they have won four and lost none of the last six meetings, including a 1-0 triumph in this term's first contest.

So, Milan could do a Serie A derby double for the first time since 2011, during Allegri's successful first spell at the club.

Of course, Inter will have different plans for this encounter, having gone unbeaten in the league since late November, when they lost 1-0 to their fierce city rivals.

On that occasion, ex-Milan man Hakan Calhanoglu was denied by Mike Maignan from the penalty spot, but the Nerazzurri responded by going 15 games without defeat in Serie A.

Though they recently limped out of Europe, last week's 2-0 win over Genoa made it eight straight league victories for the imperious leaders, and that streak sees them dominating the division.

Inter are top scorers - having found the net 21 more times than Milan - and they have struck the most set-piece goals by some distance: their tally of 21 includes a league-high 15 from corners. Meanwhile, Milan have conceded half of their goals from dead-ball situations, including 25% from corner kicks.

With the Scudetto all but sealed, Cristian Chivu's side continued their quest for a rare domestic double on Tuesday evening, visiting Como for the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final.

After a grim goalless draw set them up nicely for next month's home leg, the Nerazzurri must now try to finish off the title race.

Technically 'visitors' this weekend, Chivu and co have won all of their last nine Serie A away matches - keeping clean sheets in the last six - so Inter could post 10 consecutive away wins for just the second time in their whole top-flight history.

They will have the chance to do so in familiar surroundings, and another victory at San Siro would give them a surely unassailable 13-point lead with just 10 rounds remaining.

AC Milan Serie A form:

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Inter Milan Serie A form:

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Inter Milan form (all competitions):

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Team News

Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be out of action for several weeks with a serious facial injury, while centre-back Matteo Gabbia (hernia) and forgotten striker Santiago Gimenez (ankle) are also sidelined.

Allegri can call on Davide Bartesaghi, though, as the young wing-back has quickly recovered from a flexor issue he suffered against Cremonese.

Though Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Fullkrug are also in contention for two forward places, Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao are likely to be retained up front.

Since scoring the decider in November's reverse fixture, Pulisic's superb form has been halted by fitness problems, and he has failed to record a goal involvement in nine subsequent appearances.

Still, having found the net in three of his last six derbies, the USA international could become the first Milan player to score in both league games against Inter since Kaka in the 2003-04 campaign.

Leao is now the Rossoneri's top scorer, after netting his ninth Serie A strike of the season last weekend, but the Nerazzurri must make do without their main marksman.

Inter captain - and current Capocannoniere leader - Lautaro Martinez is still sidelined by a calf injury, so Chivu will choose two from Francesco Pio Esposito, Marcus Thuram and Ange-Yoan Bonny to spearhead his attack.

After making his first start for several weeks in Tuesday's cup draw, Calhanoglu should be primed to meet his old club, seeking redemption for that penalty miss earlier this season.

Denzel Dumfries is also back in contention after nearly four months on the sidelines, while several men will return to the first XI after being rested in midweek.

Yann Sommer and Nicolo Barella are among them, but Federico Dimarco is perhaps the most notable: the latter has been involved in 12 goals across 10 Serie A matches this calendar year - twice as many as any other player.

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Tomori, De Winter, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leao

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Bisseck, Akanji, Bastoni; Henrique, Barella, Calhanoglu, Zielinski, Dimarco; Thuram, Esposito

We say: AC Milan 1-2 Inter Milan

The blue-and-black half of Italy's second city will celebrate on Sunday evening - and probably beyond - as Inter can effectively seal the Scudetto with an increasingly rare derby victory.

Milan have done well to stay in touch so far, but their free-scoring foes are overdue a big win against major rivals and have plenty of incentive to finally get one.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.