(Football news) The last two champions of Italy will face each other on Saturday in the Derby della Madonnina which sees Scudetto holders AC Milan take on Inter Milan to see who are the kings of Calcio this time around. The two second city giants face each other at the San Siro, with the Nerazzurri a point ahead of their oldest rivals in the Serie A standings. Inter managed to get their revenge by eliminating them in the Coppa Italia semi-finals but AC Milan had the last taste of the derby in Serie A as they struck twice in the final 15 minutes through Olivier Giroud to take three points back in February, which subsequently turned out to be the turning point in the Scudetto race.
Stefano Pioli's side currently hold the upper hand in the fixture as both teams have recently surpassed their long-dominance from their counterparts from Turin. Both the Milan clubs now seek to hold off the challenge of a new-look Juventus side, Roma and perhaps several others teams in Italy, to preserve their status as Italy's top dogs. Milan are naturally targeting a fast start to the 2022-23 campaign but after two lacklustre draws over the past fortnight it has left them trailing Inter, ahead of the season's first Milan Derby. The Rossenari are nonetheless unbeaten in each of their last 20 league matches, picking up 13 wins in the process. Not only that, they have kept the most clean sheets of any club across Europe's top five leagues in 2022.
Although AC Milan have failed to win any of their last six Serie A clashes with Inter as the official 'hosts' at the Meazza their last victory as hosts came in January 2016. The Nerazzurri after letting the Scudetto slip last term around have a one-point advantage in the standings after four matches. Inter are on nine points from a possible 12 so far which is just one shy of league leaders Roma. The Nerazzurri are the away side on Saturday, but have now posted six successive Serie A wins at San Siro and scored in each of their last 16 league games as they are intent on winning the city supremacy from their Rossoneri rivals.
Lazio take on their southern rivals Napoli clash at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday as both the sides are unbeaten since the start of the Serie A season. The hosts were denied a third win out of four matches when they conceded a last-gasp equaliser in midweek. Napoli were also held by lower-ranked opponents, leaving both the teams on eight points apiece in the Serie A standings. Sarri meets an old friend this weekend in Luciano Spalletti who will also be stirred by fond memories, as the Napoli coach returns to the team where he spent two successful spells with Roma. However, his current team's failure to win either of their last two matches will surely want an immediate response as they were held to a goalless draw by Fiorentina last weekend and pegged back by promoted Lecce on Wednesday.
The other fixtures are:
- Fiorentina vs Juventus
- Cremonese vs Sassuolo
- Spezia vs Bologna
- Verona vs Sampdoria
- Udinese vs AS Roma
- Monza vs Atalanta
- Salernitana vs Empoli
- Torino vs Lecce
