THE last few years have been particularly tough for Milanese football. Fans of the city’s two giant clubs have been forced to look on as Juventus have dominated the Italian football landscape, while also seeing Napoli and AS Roma routinely finish above them. As if that was not bad enough, the 2016/17 campaign saw Atalanta – another Lombardy team based in nearby Bergamo – finish above them for the first time ever.

It is not as if AC Milan and Inter haven’t tried to change either, cycling through a combined 14 permanent managers (plus a further three caretaker bosses) since they both last won trophies back in 2011. That has led to a frankly ridiculous amount of player turnover in the intervening years, with the fact they have also each changed owners twice in that time proving to be a major factor in their collective malaise.

Last season saw Inter qualify for the Champions League, ending a six-year absence from UEFA’s elite competition, but even as they went out of the group stage in December this term, it seemed they were poised to remain San Siro’s leading representative. Indeed, a Boxing Day win over Napoli saw the Nerazzurri cement their grip on third place, moving eight points clear of a Milan side they had also beaten in October’s Derby della Madonnina.

—AC Milan’s current top scorer
—Genoa’s current top scorer

Krzysztof Piatek is owning Serie A this season pic.twitter.com/suUvSsUfL3

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 9, 2019

However, as the current campaign’s second meeting between these two heavyweights approaches, things could not be more different. The astute January signings of Lucas Paquetá and Krzysztof Piątek have injected new life into Gennaro Gattuso’s Rossoneri, the latter in particular making an instant impact.

Grabbing eight goals in his first nine appearances, the Polish striker is already the team’s leading goal scorer this term, his clinical finishing giving them an edge they so sorely lacked before his arrival. After telling Sky Italia last month that his new hitman “lives to score goals,” Gattuso went even further in a recent press conference.

“Piątek comes across like Robocop,“ the 2006 World Cup winner told reporters. “He only says four words, he doesn’t get lost in chatter and he’s also showed it in training. He’s very physical and he likes to attack space. He arrived with enthusiasm and was surprised by how it was welcomed by everyone.”

He went on to say that the 23-year-old – who also found the net 19 times in 21 appearances for Genoa this term – “is very interested in research and comes to ask the staff about the characteristics of the opposition defenders.” That work is clearly paying dividends every weekend and has seen Milan remain undefeated with him in the team, notching six wins and three draws since agreeing to pay a reported fee of €35 million to sign him.

No disqualification for Gattuso – he will be on the bench in the Derby, pic.twitter.com/tS5wuAP46N

— Meytar Zeevi (@RossoneriBlog) March 12, 2019

Those results have seen the Rossoneri reach the Coppa Italia semi-finals and move up to third place in Serie A, leapfrogging Inter along the way. Luciano Spalletti’s men might only be one point behind, but their own downward spiral is intrinsically linked to the absence of a striker every bit as clinical as Piątek.

Instead of lining up in their attack however, Mauro Icardi is on the sidelines, insisting he has an ankle injury that he appeared to sustain at the exact moment the club stripped him of the Captaincy. The spat between the Argentinian striker is complex, convoluted and complicated, explained at length in this excellent column from Unibet’s own Graham Ruthven.

To sum it up, his wife/agent Wanda Nara has completely failed in an attempt to secure him a new contract and then repeatedly bad-mouthed the club on television. Things have gotten so bad that, on a recent appearance on the Sunday evening Mediaset show “Tiki Taka,” regular guest Antonio Cassano called the situation “a disaster.”

Yet there are many other reasons for the Nerazzurri slump that are being masked by Nara’s high profile floundering, with Spalletti perhaps owing her a huge debt for covering up his own ineptitude. His tactics, team selection and substitutions have been arguably even more embarrassing than seeing someone who caused as much drama as Cassano feeling that he is in a position to offer Icardi moral guidance.

Real Madrid have contacted Mauro Icardi over a possible summer transfer.

(Via: MundoDeportivo) pic.twitter.com/U82jEC0vIE

— Transferchanger (@TransferChanger) March 13, 2019

A fine indicator of just how ridiculous Spalletti’s decision making has become is in his use of Andrea Ranocchia, repeatedly deploying him as a striker when the team needs a goal. Watching a club with the history and tradition of Inter reduced to lumping long balls into the box towards a 6’5” central defender almost makes Jose Mourinho’s use of Marouane Fellaini at Old Trafford look sophisticated.

Letting Antonio Candreva – the man who has made more inaccurate crosses than any other player in Serie A over the last two seasons – take charge of set pieces, fielding Kwadwo Asamoah as part of an attacking trident, and continually complaining about every refereeing decision only add to the feeling that Spalletti is a man on borrowed time. There is no end in sight for the Icardi drama, CEO Beppe Marotta simply replying “I don’t know” when asked by Sky Italia this week if the no.9 would feature in the Derby.

But if that situation sums up Inter’s current status, then Piątek – in form, grabbing goals and smiling while he does so – serves to highlight the stark contrast in fortunes being enjoyed across town. A win in this historic rivalry would be a huge boost for either side, while a loss for Inter would likely see them slip out of the top four with just ten games left in the campaign.

Fans of AC Milan would enjoy nothing more.

A £10 on AC Milan to beat Inter returns £24.50
A £10 on Inter to beat AC Milan returns £30.50