The eyes of the world will turn to the Stadio San Siro on Wednesday night when AC Milan and Inter clash in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie, in only the second-ever Derby della Madonnina at this stage of the competition.
Back in 2003, the two Milanese giants played out a goalless draw in the first leg, but the Rossoneri progressed on away goals after a 1-1 draw in the second leg, however, with UEFA removing the rule two seasons ago, there is less reason to fear conceding as the home side.
Although Milan remained in contention for Champions League qualification via their Serie A position with an impressive win over Lazio at the weekend, the Nerazzurri remained two points ahead with an identical 2-0 win over AS Roma, so winning the competition could be their only route back to the top table of European football.
AC Milan vs Inter: Team news and predicted line-ups
Despite star attacker Rafael Leao trying to calm fears that the groin injury that forced the Portugal international to exit their match with Lazio after just 10 minutes, AC Milan will have concerns right until the Milan starting XI is announced ahead of kick-off, but coach Stefano Pioli will be desperate to have him available. Leao trained alone on Tuesday, leading to increased concern for his fitness and availability.
Lautaro Martinez was rested for Inter‘s visit to Rome, appearing from the bench for the final 30 minutes against Lazio, but Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi will have him back from the start at the Stadio San Siro in place of Joaquin Correa.
AC Milan predicted XI vs Inter (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Tonali, Krunic; Brahim Diaz, Bennacer, Saelemaekers; Giroud.
Inter predicted XI vs AC Milan (3-5-3): Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Martinez, Dzeko.
AC Milan vs Inter: When does the Champions League fixture start?
The Champions League semi-final first-leg fixture of AC Milan vs Inter kicks off at 21:00 CEST – local time in Italy – making it a 20:00 BST kick-off in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
In the United States, kick-off in AC Milan vs Inter is 15:00 EDT or 12:00 PDT.
AC Milan vs Inter: Where to watch the Champions League fixture?
In the United States, every Champions League game in 2022/23 can be seen on Paramount+, including AC Milan vs Inter in their Champions League semi-final.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, you can watch AC Milan vs Inter on BT Sport 1.
