Milan aim to put Inter celebrations on hold - Saturday, 3 May 2008

Tension rises for a hugely important Milan derby. Inter can win the Scudetto on Sunday with a win over the Rossoneri, winning it in front of what will be a mostly Milan crowd, something which must be a dream for many an Interista. Indeed if Sampdoria beat Roma at Stadio Luigi Ferraris, then Milan may not be able to stop them with a win. A win for the Nerazzurri would also damage the chances of Milan to get into the Champions League, the icing on the cake for them. AC Milan know a win against the probable champions, and a defeat for Fiorentina away to Cagliari, would see them go into poll position for getting forth spot, and salvaging something from the season. 3 points from this game in any case for Milan will keep the season going for them, and keep the pressure on Fiorentina.

Both teams will be without a major striker – Milan’s Ronaldo is injured long-term, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return from his injury lay-off on May 11th against Siena. In the battle of the young striking sensations, Balotelli looks set for a start alongside Hernan Crespo, but Alexandre Pato will start on the bench, largely thanks to some terrific form from Pippo Inzaghi, who has scored 8 goals in 4 games. Elsewhere, Materazzi returns in defence for Inter having come off the bench to score last week against Cagliari, and Milan are still without Paolo Maldini. It promises to be an amazing game with so much to play for, and will see the very best of Italian football on show.

Probable Line-Ups

Milan: Kalac, Bonera, Kaladze, Nesta, Favalli, Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf, Kaka, Inzaghi

Inter: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Materazzi, Rivas, Chivu, Zanetti, Vieira, Cambiasso, Stankovic, Balotelli, Crespo

Tim D