The 296th Milan Derby is on the schedule Sunday February 9, 2020 as second place Inter Milan host eighth place AC Milan in a big match-up for both clubs. Inter are trying to stick with Juventus, and Lazio, for the Serie A title race and AC Milan are trying to stay in striking distance of Atalanta and Roma for the final Champions League spot.
Inter enter play in second place in Serie A trailing first place Juventus by just three points. Lazio are right on Inter’s tail, just two points back, so Inter find themselves in a three team title race this season. Inter are through to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia, where they will face Napoli, and have a Round of 32 date with Ludogorets in the Europa League, though it does not seem like they will be playing to win that competition.
AC Milan enter match day 23 in eighth place, with 32 points, but are tied with sixth place Cagliari on points for the final Europa League spot. Milan are also just seven points back of Roma in fifth and seven points back of Atalanta for fourth place and the final Champions League spot. AC Milan are through to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia, where they have a date with Juventus, so their main focus the rest of the season should be getting back to European competition next season.
Below is my pick for the Serie A action between Inter Milan and AC Milan. All odds are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Inter Milan (-105) vs AC Milan (+290) Draw (+240)
It took a while, but Inter Milan, and most notably Romelu Lukaku, were able to breakdown Udinese and come away with the 2-0 road win. Lukaku broke the deadlock in the 64th minute and then added insurance on a penalty just seven minutes later to seal the win for Inter. Inter Milan have now gone unbeaten in nine straight games and have not lost in Serie A since their early October loss to Juventus. Inter are the third best home club in Italy having won 22 points from a possible 33 points.
AC Milan would be disappointed with their result last week as they could only muster a 1-1 draw at home against a 10-man Verona. Verona went up 1-0 early, but Milan tied it up 20 minutes later to make it a blank slate at the half. The 68th minute saw Verona go a man down, but Milan could not take advantage, so the game ended tied at one. The draw was disappointing, but that is now seven games with a loss for Milan as they storm up the Serie A table. Milan are a top six road club this season having won 18 points from a possible 30.
Series History: These two teams have met in 295 total matches, 224 official and 71 unofficial, with AC Milan having the most overall wins with 112.
Game Prediction: Inter win a tight Milan Derby, so I am backing Inter Milan -105.
2020 Results: 12-8