Milan are lingering in the middle of the table while Inter was top but is now being haunted by what seemed like distant troubles.

Today is the Coppa Italia, in which there is a Derby della Madonnia with only one possible winner, with a spot in the semi-finals up for grabs so their can be no mutual benefit. Gazzetta dello Sport underlines the status of both Milan clubs before the big game tonight.

“Milan are in far worse condition, it is clear but while Inter sit in third which is required for their ambitions, they’ve been in bad condition over the last couple of weeks.”

The hard graft put in against Pordenone of Serie C in the previous round of the cup may of compromised their form against Udinese while many individual errors allowed Sassuolo to steal the three points from the San Siro with an early goal. This all came after many people had just started to believe that Inter were genuine Scudetto contenders.

However, the team is once again struggling with the bipolar syndrome they have demonstrated many times over the last few years. Spalletti seemed to calm the excitement and cured the players depression but there may be certain structural behaviours that are harder to eliminate. Even Jose Mourinho struggled to install continuity into his group.