Inter vs. AC Milan: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Stream & TV Info for Derby

This derby is not what it once was. Both AC Milan and Inter are practically mid-table clubs with marginal hopes of qualifying for the Europa League.

Yet the people are still coming. Back in November, the derby drew the biggest crowd of any Serie A match this season, per ESPN FC. Expect another sellout, with 71,000 tickets already sold as of Friday, according to Sempreinter.com's Siavoush Fallahi:

"

71000 tickets sold for the derby

— Siavoush Fallahi (@SiavoushF) April 17, 2015"

It's also a battle between two old foes—this time on the bench. Milan's Filippo Inzaghi has played and scored in this fixture before, just as Inter's Roberto Mancini has coached against the former striker. The two will meet as managers for the second time.

"Of course I have less experience than Mancini," Inzaghi told reporters, via Football Italia. "Maybe in 20 years they’ll say I’ve run out of ideas and younger tacticians should be brought in."

Date: Sunday, 19 April

Time: 7:45 p.m. UK/2:45 p.m. EDT

Venue: San Siro

TV info: BT Sport (UK)/beIN Sports (U.S. and Canada)

Live stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S. and Canada)

In all reality, a result on Sunday may be the last real triumph of the campaign for either side. Inter stand in 10th place, while Milan are in ninth. Neither club has managed to win more than two games in a row all year. They are cross-city rivals who can sympathize with each other, the fall from the top hurting both of them just as much.

Predicted Formations

Diego Lopez is a doubt. He sprained his finger in training, as reported by MilanNews.it via Football Italia, and he could miss his ninth Serie A game with Milan.

Back-up Christian Abbiati has started just a single league game since October. He has featured in the derby before, but he does not have the luxury of regular matchday experience anymore.

The rest of the team, however, remains pretty much unchanged.

A defensive back line consisting of Luca Antonelli, Gabriel Paletta, Philippe Mexes and Ignazio Abate should stay the same. (Left-back Mattia De Sciglio did make his comeback from injury last weekend, but at this point, Antonelli is the undisputed starter.)

The midfield three is starting to show some consistency. Marco van Ginkel, Nigel de Jong and Giacomo Bonaventura are all reliable ball-carriers. Van Ginkel in particular is finally healthy, and he is capable of playing the defence-splitting passes. 

Up front is pretty familiar, too. Jeremy Menez and the returning Keisuke Honda should flank the wings, with Mattia Destro or Giampaolo Pazzini in the middle. Menez is the go-to scorer on the team, having netted in the first derby of the year.

The biggest tactical decisions rest with the Nerazzurri.

Matteo Bazzi/Associated Press

Joseph Postorino of Sempreinter.com believes Mancini could elect to go with a back three. Juan Jesus, Nemanja Vidic and Andrea Ranocchia could partner up again, as they did under former coach Walter Mazzarri, with Davide Santon and Danilo D'Ambrosio on the wings. Hernanes and Gary Medel could take up the middle of the pitch, while Xherdan Shaqiri, Rodrigo Palacio and Mauro Icardi rotate in attack.

Player to Watch

The trickiest player between the two sides is Shaqiri. He has those game-breaking characteristics: speed, vision and a great shot.

It will be his first Milan derby—and another chance to make a good impression ahead of a possible permanent move to Inter in the summer. The 23-year-old is on loan from Bayern Munich and has scored three times for Inter since joining them in January.

Odds (via Odds Shark)

Inter: +125

Milan: +220

Draw: +220

Prediction: Inter 1, Milan 1