Overview
The second Derby della Madonnina of the season takes place in the context that both teams are competing for the Serie A championship. However, AC Milan is 10 points behind Inter, forcing Rossoneri to win if they want to continue to nurture hopes of chasing.
And once again, Milan made their city rivals suffer. Inter of coach Cristian Chivu continued to suffer another defeat in the derby at San Siro, ending the stable performance streak that lasted from the end of November - when they also lost to Milan 0-1.
This result makes Chivu worried as Inter's form is showing signs of slowing down. Nerazzurri have lost 3 of their last 6 matches in all competitions, equal to the number of defeats in the previous 20 matches.
However, drawing less than Milan helps Inter still maintain their leading position as a candidate for the Serie A championship. Besides, they have also been very close to the Coppa Italia final.
The blue and black team is now aiming for the opportunity to regain form when hosting Atalanta - an opponent they have often overwhelmed in recent years. The last time Inter lost to Atalanta in Serie A was in 2018, and since then they have won all seven recent encounters.
Right at San Siro, Atalanta also has a very poor record against Inter. In nearly 12 years, the Bergamo team has never beaten Inter here in Serie A, losing 8 out of 11 matches and averaging 2.5 goals conceded per match.
Atalanta entered this away match after a heavy 1-6 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Being led by 3 goals in the first half, coach Raffaele Palladino's team almost had no chance of reversing the situation in the second leg.
Atalanta's performance in Serie A is also not really stable. They have only won one point in the last 2 rounds and previously also drew 2-2 with Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
The home defeat to Sassuolo - a team with only 10 players - has shaken the slim hope of a place in the top 4. Last weekend, La Dea continued to disappoint when they only got a late draw against Udinese.
However, since Palladino took over the team in November, Atalanta has still been in the group of 4 teams with the best Serie A record in terms of points and goals conceded. However, they need to quickly regain their form if they want to secure a European cup spot next season.
Personnel situation
Inter Milan's injury list is still worrying as captain Lautaro Martinez is uncertain to return in time.
The absence of "El Toro" greatly affects Inter's strength. Statistics show that Inter wins up to 77% of matches when Martinez plays, but this rate decreases to 37% when he is absent, and the team's average goals also decreases by about 1.4 goals per match.
In the opposite direction, Inter may welcome good news when Hakan Calhanoglu is ready to return after missing the derby match with AC Milan. However, the possibility of defender Alessandro Bastoni playing is still open.
In case Lautaro Martinez continues to be absent, Chivu is likely to choose two names among Francesco Pio Esposito, Marcus Thuram and Ange-Yoan Bonny to lead the attack.
On Atalanta's side, Nikola Krstovic and Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca are competing for a starting position in attack. Both were previously paired in the match against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Krstovic just scored a double against Udinese last week, but this striker is experiencing a series of 7 consecutive away matches in Serie A without scoring.
Expected lineup:
Inter Milan: Sommer, Bisseck, Akanji, Bastoni, Henrique, Barella, Zielinski, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco, Thuram, Esposito.
Carnesecchi, Scalvini, Djimsiti, Ahanor, Zappacosta, De Roon, Pasalic, Bernasconi, Samardzic, Zalewski, Scamacca.
The match between Inter and Atalanta takes place at 9:00 PM on March 14th (Vietnam time).
