On Saturday at San Siro the match between Inter and AC Milan will see the two best teams from the same city take centre stage. From Manchester and Barcelona, Liverpool to Madrid and even London, there is no city like Milano.
La Gazzetta dello Sport preview the game on their website, talking about how the stage is set for a battle between gladiators of Serie A. Dzeko and Lautaro the Inter goal men will face off against the experienced Ibrahimovic and Giroud, with Kessie and Brozovic doing battle as the duo with expiring contracts, and Theo Hernandez versus Denzel Dumfries.
The best battle might just be in the midfield where two young Italians in Barella and Tonali will go toe to toe, while the duel between Calhanoglu and Brahim Diaz is rekindled as the two No.10s.
How does the derby stack up with other city rivals? Milan and Inter have 102 points combined, at an average of 2.3 per game, followed in pairs by Manchester City and United at 95 (2.1), the two from Madrid (Real and Atletico) have 86, an average of 2.
The Milanese club have won 31 games combined, with City and United stuck at 29 (and have played the same number of games), Real and Atletico at 25, Chelsea and Tottenham at 24. In Liverpool it drops to 18, and in Barcelona – between Barça and Espanyol – it is at 16.
Looking at goals scored, the Nerazzurri have 53 and the Rossoneri are at 47, so together they have scored 100 goals. Manchester boasts 91 goals, Chelsea and Tottenham have 74, Real and Atletico are at only 83, and in Barcelona the sum is 58
It is a shame that San Siro will only be open at half of its capacity which hurts both clubs, because while PSG commands Ligue 1, Manchester City are running away in the Premier League, Real Madrid are bossing LaLiga and Bayern Munich are on the march in the Bundesliga, the Milan sides are the real battle of Europe.
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