AC Milan and Inter will contest Derby della Madonnina number four of the season tonight as they meet in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.
Milan are having a dire season by recent standards, yet the derby has provided some positive moments as they have won two and drawn one. The victories included a late winner in the first league meeting, and an added-time goal to clinch the Supercoppa Italiana, the club’s 50th trophy.
The gap that has opened up to the top five spots in the league means that the Coppa Italia takes on some extra importance, because winning it guarantees a place in the Europa League. It would also add a sweet ending to a bitter campaign overall.
The five key battles
We start with the man who was the hero that night in Riyadh back in January: Tammy Abraham. It is somewhat of a surprise that he is expected to lead the line given he didn’t do much against Napoli (albeit with little service) and with Santiago Gimenez expected to be back to 100%, but Conceicao is tipped to retain faith in the Englishman.
With every game towards the end of the season there is the sub-plot of trying to earn a permanent stay. Stefan de Vrij will be the one hoping to make sure that Abraham does not get much of a sniff, with the ex-Chelsea man having impressed in the first league derby too. The Dutch defender, meanwhile, was the one who scored the late leveller in the 1-1 draw in February.
