Inter Milan Vs AC Milan – Serie A 2025/2026: The Derby Della Madonnina Chess Match – Tactical Preview

Inter Milan will face AC Milan at San Siro for the 12th Serie A fixture of the 2025/2026 campaign, in a Derby della Madonnina clash that promises to be extremely dramatic and tense.

That is because both sides will be striving to win, not just because they are facing their rivals, but also because each point is crucial this season.

Following AC Milan’s equaliser against Parma, they lost the lead of Serie A and share the same number of points with Napoli, who are also determined to defend their title.

With two points separating AC Milan and Napoli from Inter Milan and AS Roma, the competition at the top of the league standings is becoming fiercer with each fixture, and that’s an additional factor that will push both teams to try to earn the three points in this direct challenge.

In this tactical preview of the Derby della Madonnina, our focus will be on both teams’ expected lineups and formations, how they need to play to win, what to avoid, and what to focus on.

The analysis will take into account both head coaches’ principles and playing styles, examining how they can improve their approach to such big occasions.

Expected AC Milan Lineup, Formation & Defensive Plan

Under the management of Massimiliano Allegri, AC Milan have demonstrated on numerous occasions that they concede far fewer goals in “big games” than against less renowned opponents.

For example, they conceded two goals against Cremonese, Pisa, and Parma, but did not concede against Roma or Juventus.

Even against Napoli, they conceded just once, with that goal coming from a penalty, not from open play.

Milan’s tendency to concede fewer goals against the big teams can be further consolidated in the Derby della Madonnina, as Allegri pays close attention to the team’s defensive performances, especially in such encounters.

However, the mission will not be that simple this time, as Inter Milan have proven they are still good enough in attack.

The Nerazzurri have become even more dangerous in this regard, having reinforced their team with two powerful strikers who have integrated well.

Both Ange-Yoan Bonny and Pio Esposito have confirmed over the last few games that they are worthy of rotation alongside Lautaro Martínez and Marcus Thuram, thanks to their valuable attacking contributions.

This addition of reliable attacking options will certainly pose a problem for AC Milan’s defence, as they will have to stop the four players if Cristian Chivu chooses to create attacking chances in the second half.

In other words, Allegri and AC Milan’s defensive mission will be much more complicated than last season, when they had to focus only on the threats of Martínez and Thuram.

This season, however, it will be crucial to study the four forwards’ profiles and prepare specific plans to limit the threat posed by each, in case Chivu uses all four strikers in this match.

Since Allegri will most likely be relying on Matteo Gabbia, Fikayo Tomori, and Strahinja Pavlović as centre-backs, it will be crucial for the three of them to mark their direct opponents tightly and avoid letting one of them win the ball with his back to the goal and turn to shoot or provide a backward pass to the ones coming from behind.

Both Esposito and Martínez are known for being extremely dangerous when receiving the ball with their backs to the goal, as they have proved on numerous occasions that they can turn and score despite tight marking.

That’s why doubling the marking of strikers with an extra defender each time or with the support of Youssouf Fofana or Adrien Rabiot will be essential to alleviate Inter Milan’s striker threats inside the box.

The following picture highlights the marking mistakes AC Milan’s defence commits during moments of lack of concentration, conceding time and space to the opposing midfielders, who then find crucial passing trajectories to one of their most dangerous players.

In this case, AC Milan allowed Mario Pašalić to find a passing trajectory to Atalanta’s most dangerous player, Ademola Lookman, with Tomori and Alexis Saelemaekers leaving enough space for Lookman to receive the ball, make two steps with it, and shoot on goal.

Even Gabbia’s attempts to prevent the shot were not well-timed during this action, and that’s something that AC Milan need to work on not reproducing against a team with more dynamic and dangerous strikers than Atalanta.

AC Milan Plan To Limit  Dangerous Inter Milan Attacking Transitions

In addition to that, AC Milan will have to take into consideration the fact that Chivu’s Inter Milan still relies on the quick and extremely dangerous attacking transitions, which rely on all of Hakan Çalhanoğlu in the first place, Nicolò Barella for making the links between the defence and attack, and Thuram for quickly accelerating with the ball to reach the box.

Inter Milan have also added reinforcements that fit this attacking strategy, with Petar Sučić, who can play the same role as Barella, and Bonny, who has very similar traits to Thuram, especially in attacking transitions.