Inter Milan will likely play with an unchanged starting eleven in the Milan derby, whilst AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud could miss out.
Italian news outlet Gazzetta.it anticipate the lineups for this weekend’s Serie A derby, with Giroud’s absence perhaps the most notable ommission.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi and his AC Milan counterpart Stefano Pioli now have just a few days left in which to decide on the teams that they’ll play in the derby on Saturday.
For Nerazzurri coach Inzaghi, the question will be whether to change anything.
In each of Inter’s first three matches before the international break, the coach named the same eleven players. Inzaghi has focused on players he trusts from last season.
But the form of Davide Frattesi during the international break could give Inzaghi one or two doubts.
Meanwhile, for Rossoneri coach Pioli, the biggest questions may arise from fitness issues.
Both striker Olivier Giroud and defender Pierre Kalulu are doubts for the match.
The Milan coach will have a couple more days to wait and see whether the pair will be fit. He faces the problem of both potentially missing his attacking talisman, and having an injury crisis in defense.
Inter Milan & AC Milan Likely Starting Lineups For Derby Clash
The Gazzetta anticipates that the two teams’ starting elevens for the match will be as follows:
Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Darmian, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Lautaro.
AC Milan (4-3-3): Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Kjaer, Theo Hernandez; Loftsu-Cheek, Krunic, Reijnders; Leao, Jovic, Pulisic.
For Inter there will be no surprises, predicts the Gazzetta.
Veterans like Matteo Darmian and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will keep their places. Newcomers Benjamin Pavard and Frattesi, on the other hand, will have to settle for a place on the bench.
And for the Rossoneri, Simone Kjaer will start, with Kalulu not likely to be fit and Fiyako Tomori serving a one-match suspension.
Former Fiorentina, Real Madrid, and Eintracht Frankfurt Luka Jovic, meanwhile, will start according to the Gazzetta.
The Serb joined the Rossoneri on the final day of the transfer window. And he will already find himself deputizing for Giroud given the Frenchman’s fitness.