A MOUTHWATERING Milan derby in the Champions League semi-final sees AC Milan and Inter Milan face off in the first leg in a game where home advantage means little.
Two underachieving clubs domestically this season have somehow made it through to the last four of Europe's premier competition. And of course, with both clubs sharing the San Siro, AC Milan's home status in the first leg shouldn't mean too much.
They have twice met before in Europe – in the 2002/03 semi-finals and 2004/05 quarter-finals – and AC Milan won on both occasions.
But with Inter Milan currently in fourth and AC Milan in fifth, two points behind, neither team have enjoyed a vintage Serie A campaign.
Stefano Pioli's AC side made it past champions Napoli in the last round and in an exceptionally hard-fought encounter, while Inter did the hard work in Portugal when they beat Benfica 2-0 before drawing 3-3 at the San Siro.
Simone Inzaghi's Inter side come into this in the better form after five wins in a row in all competitions and have only conceded once in that spell.
For Milan, they are on a patchy run of three wins in their last eight although they are undefeated in nine.
How the bookies view it
Despite that home ‘advantage', the layers make Inter favourites here to take a first leg lead at 6/4 with bet365.
AC Milan can be backed at 11/5 with UniBet and the draw is 9/4 with 10bet.
Recent head to heads
As stated, AC Milan have won both the previous European meetings, but this season although AC won 3-2 in the first derby, Inter have subsequently won twice – 3-0 in the Italian Super Cup in January and then 1-0 in February.
Players to watch
Even at 36, Olivier Giroud remains a force to be reckoned with and netted that crucial goal against Napoli in the last round. He is 10/3 with William Hill to score anytime
After an up-and-down campaign, Romelu Lukaku has looked dangerous again in recent months and scored against Benfica and in their weekend win at Roma. The Belgian striker is 3/1 to score with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
This should be a cagey affair, but Inter can put down a real marker by winning in the first leg and carrying on their excellent recent form.
They have looked solid defensively too and look an all-round better team than their rivals, which bookies seem to agree with too.
Although there have plenty of goals in the meetings recently, there's too much at stake here to go gung-ho. Under 2.5 goals is predictably low, but this game could easily be settled by a single goal, Go for under 1.5 goals at 2/1 with bet365.
Finally, AC Milan conceded an incredible 26 corners to Napoli in just two games in the last round. So it's a surprise that we can get odds against at 21/20 with 10bet for Inter to win the corners count.
This UEFA Champions League match between AC Milan and Inter Milan will be played on May 10, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best AC Milan vs Inter Milan prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
