It is impossible to know whether the result of Saturday’s Milan derby will prove crucial in the title race but a win for Inter or AC Milan would definitely bring some much-needed breathing space at the top of Serie A.
With defending champions Napoli losing at home to Lazio in the last round of games, the two Milanese clubs are alone at the top after picking up three wins from three, Reuters reported.
The match at the San Siro will be the first time since 1962 that the Milan sides meet while top of the table. Though on the previous occasion they also shared first place with Fiorentina.
Inter had the upper hand last season.
They won the last four of the pair’s five meetings, including both ties in their Champions League semi-final, and a win on Saturday would mark the first time they have won five consecutive derbies.
But this Milan side are a different proposition from the team who put up such a disappointing defense of their league title last season, Reuters reported.
With so many new faces in the squad there was a fear that Stefano Pioli’s side would need time to gel but maximum points from their opening three games has put paid to that theory.
Three new signings have already proved fundamental to Milan’s strong start, with Tijjani Reijnders, Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek starting in their three league wins.
Pulisic scored in the opening two games and gave Milan a threat on the right, bringing balance to the side after relying on Rafael Leao on the left for so long.
Loftus-Cheek has added muscle to the midfield and has two assists to his name, and along with playmaker Reijnders they have allowed Milan to overcome the sale of Sandro Tonali to Newcastle.
Concerns over Olivier Giroud’s ability to keep knocking in the goals when he is about to turn 37 have so far proved unfounded. The French forward has four so far, one fewer than Serie A’s top scorer Lautaro Martinez of Inter.
Martinez netted 21 league goals in both the past two seasons but has already made a better start to the current campaign than ever before.
While Inter coach Simone Inzaghi no longer has forwards Romelu Lukaku or Eden Dzeko at his disposal, new signing Marcus Thuram got off the mark in Inter’s 4-0 demolition of Fiorentina last time out.
Preparations for the derby will mostly come down to the last few days with most of their starting players returning from international duty.
Milan have a concern over Giroud after he went off injured in France’s win over Ireland last week but are hopeful he can recover. If not, Luka Jovic, their recent loan signing from Fiorentina, is waiting for his chance to shine, Reuters reported.
Milan have defender Fikayo Timori suspended with Simon Kjaer expected to come in.
A draw in Milan would suit Juventus just fine.
Two points behind in third place, Juve can close the gap with a win over Lazio, who got their first win of the season at Napoli last time out.
Napoli look to get their title defense back at promoted Genoa while surprise package Lecce put their unbeaten start to the season on the line with an away trip to Monza on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma, with just one point from three games, will try to kick-start their season when they host Empoli on Sunday.
