Inter manager Antonio Conte has revealed that he is aware that his side will face difficulty in tomorrow’s match and has shared his expectations of some players and also provided an update on the status of Alexis Sanchez.

He was firstly asked what sort of value he is putting on this match, which will be the first time that the two sides face off against one another in the 2020/21 season.

“I think I will give a fairly obvious answer. We try to do well in all matches because every win is worth three points,” he began his pre-match press conference which was held this afternoon.

“For sure the derby brings greater difficulty because we will face a strong team that is doing very well. They finished last season in an important way and have started this one in the right way.

“Just like against Lazio, we face a strong team. We want to do well and continue on the path we have started knowing that tomorrow there will be difficulties.”

The former Italian national team boss was then questioned about what his expectations of the players who have just returned from national team duty are in the match at San Siro.

“Most of them returned yesterday, Vidal and Sanchez returned from Chile last night. If you do well in the national team you come back with high morale and our desire is to try to make ourselves available, prepare for the game well and exploit the morale of these players who are back.”

Next Conte, who is into his second year in charge of Inter was asked about how difficult it has been to prepare for the Milan derby under the conditions he has had to.

“If I could have chosen, I would have preferred to have at least one more day. We know very well that there are national and international calendars to be respected and we will prepare accordingly.

“We will prepare for the match today, we have no other way of doing so. We will do some video analysis and blackboard work to shorten the training a little, which will have to be not so demanding and intense as the players returned yesterday and there are players who played their second or third consecutive match two days ago.”

Next the 51-year-old tactician was asked whether he believes things will balance out come the end of the season.

“I think that in a moment like this we must all be good at being proactive and accept the current situation because sport must accept it but also in general we will need great availability.

“We went through a very hard period and we quickly forgot about it. Now it seems that a difficult period for everyone is returning again. In my opinion, both in terms of sports and in private life, we must be even more united to try to deal with this situation in the best possible way because stopping would be disastrous for everyone.

“It becomes useless to talk about complaints or other things such as who is more or less penalised or even just in terms of refereeing favours. We must try to do the best in our own sphere.”

Conte was then asked if he expects the team to show everything they have acquired in their year and a half together during this emergency situation.

“We are only at the fourth match, there will still be many important tests to come. I always expect growth from all points of view, especially when it comes to responsibility.

“I’m trying to work a lot in this respect. I think this is important for the growth of the whole group and to take another step.”

Media reports have speculated that Alexis Sanchez returned from national team duty and Conte proceeded to confirm that he was carrying an injury and would be evaluated today.

“He came back with a fatigued muscle last night. We will do some evaluations today during training. We will try to be careful because we have a cycle of seven games in which we will play every three days.

“We will evaluate with the player and we will take the right risk. I want the players to take responsibility and therefore I want him to tell me too if he can play or if he prefers to wait for the next one.”

Conte was then asked if it was a choice to go out and score a lot whilst maybe conceding a few goals along the way as well.

“I’m going back to what I said when I talked about the 113 goals scored last year. Football changes and I think that proactive football, based on tempo and pressure is a bit like what is done especially in Italy and in Europe by most of the teams.

“I repeat that it is inevitable that everyone has to work according to the situation and the possibilities. You can profess what you want but you have to adapt to the situation because if you have to fight to save yourself you know that when you play with teams that have stronger squads you will have to adopt a different strategy than to those who play every time to win.

“I think that in Italy the level has risen and there is a desire to confront each other openly, to apply pressure, to build and to seek solutions.”

The former Juventus boss was asked if adversity can impact the determination that a team shows during a match,

“I don’t think that major or minor difficulties of a period should lower or raise the determination of the team. That must always remain the same. The desire, the concentration, must not change at all.

“I’ve always found them here at Inter very willing to face training and matches. The final result is often the result of many circumstances but I’m happy with what I see.”

Next he spoke on his expectations of the battle between Inter wing-back Achraf Hakimi and AC Milan wing-back Theo Hernandez.

“I expect a match between two teams, Inter and AC Milan. Inside these two teams there will be players like Hakimi and Hernandez who are interesting and making themselves available to the team must bring their contribution. We are talking about two deadly players with speed and with excellent quality.”

He was then asked again about Sanchez’s condition.

“He was visited by the doctors today, we will do some evaluations during the training, hearing his opinion and the feeling he has with his body. Then we will make decisions, but today I do not exclude anything.”

Conte proceeded by discussing who he could play alongside Stefan de Vrij in the three man defence given the absences he is dealing with.

“Regardless of who plays in that position, we ask the central defender to be good at constructing play and to become an additional element in the attacking phase.

“Sometimes inserting one and the other remaining behind. I have happened to have players who were born full backs and then they were set in that position, I remember for example Azpilicueta or now D’Ambrosio and Kolarov.

“Many times we think that the three-man defence is more defensive and instead it is more offensive and many teams are using this system.

“For me it always depends on what kind of situation you implement in the game, if you are behind or if you go forward.”

Conte was then quizzed on whether he has already made a decision with regard to who will play in the Inter midfield against the Rossoneri club.

“I certainly have fewer selection problems than in other times, since I only have four players available. Tomorrow will be the first game of seven that will see us play every three days between the league and the Champions League.

“By force of things, as I said and as I will reiterate, there will be some necessary rotations. I am very comfortable doing it. Maybe tomorrow we will start with three midfielders, Wednesday we will start with others and Saturday with others.

“Everyone will be protagonists, I am working with everyone so that everyone understands what we have to do. The important thing is that there is great availability, this is the key to the season. Willingness to come on and have a good impact. This will also be important for my team in general.”

Conte was then asked about Christian Eriksen’s recent comments in the media where he discussed his lack of playing time since his arrival at the club.

“I don’t know who is playing a lot or little at Inter. For me the right players play. I make decisions for the good of the team, I can make a complete mistake, not at all or in half but I’m happy with what he is giving and how he has integrated at Inter.

“I think he is happy to work with me and my staff and with these teammates. There will be room for him and for everyone, it will be a long, difficult, exhausting season.

“Just think that tomorrow we will have three midfielders on the pitch and only one on the bench. Then we will have another one on Wednesday with Borussia. I repeat, I have to make some choices and I think Eriksen has had his space.”

Next he was asked how the club are dealing with the six players who are currently COVID-19 positive.

“We organised ourselves trying to monitor them daily together with the staff. From the tactical point of view it becomes difficult to use the ball or do something. W

“We try to keep them with some sort of condition because the problem is not so much the fact of being affected by the virus, the problem is that you are at home, you have difficulty training and you lose your condition.

“My task and the staff’s task is to try daily through sessions, including videos, so that the damage is as little harmful as possible.”

In conclusion Conte spoke on how much the absence of fans will have an impact on the match.

“It’s not nice, I’m sorry that there isn’t fans. We work hard to satisfy the fans who come to the stadium, who give up something in their private life in order to come to the stadium.

“I’m sorry there isn’t this exchange of emotions between those who play during the game and our fans in the stands to cheer us on but I repeat that we must be as collaborative and proactive as possible to get out of it in the best possible way.

“We also try to help those who have to make decisions. As for the rest I can say to our fans that in the last derby they were important in us making a comeback. We will always give our best for the shirt.”