* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
One of Europe’s tastiest derbies takes centre stage on Sunday night as the San Siro hosts the first Milan derby of the season. AC are the home side for this one, with defending champions Inter in the away dressing room.
It’s the Rossoneri who are flying high this season, sitting joint-top of the table on 31 points – seven clear of their neighbours. But who will come out on top when red and black meets blue and black? Here’s the 3 best bets.
Sunday 7.45pm – AC Milan v Inter Milan
BT Sport 1
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Value Bet: Draw
AC Milan are heading in the right direction, in spite of their wretched form in Europe. The Rossoneri are undefeated in Serie A so far this season, dropping just two points in their opening 11 games.
No other club in Europe’s top seven leagues can boast such a formidable record with the exception of current Serie A leaders Napoli, who have also dropped just two points so far. Milan have won their last seven league games on the bounce and have yet to drop a point at the San Siro this season, so they should be confident against their stuttering local rivals.
Inter’s title defence has not set the world alight in the opening third of the season and they already find themselves seven points adrift of AC and Napoli. Such a start was perhaps to be expected from a club that lost one of the best right-backs and one of the best forwards in the world over the summer in addition to their world-class manager.
There is some cause for optimism, however.
Inter have turned their Champions League campaign around with back-to-back wins over Sheriff Tiraspol, while they have dropped just four points at the San Siro in the league this season, first missing a late penalty to win against Atalanta before conceding a late spot-kick to draw against Juventus. Inter have also won six of the last seven Milan derbies and will be hard to beat on Sunday night.
Milan may have to settle for a point against their bitter rivals.
Safe Bet: Both teams to score
AC and Inter have been the two most ruthless attacking forces in Italy this season, scoring a combined 53 goals at this early stage of the season. Despite their stuttering start, Inter are the league’s leading goalscorers with 28 goals in 11 games, while AC are not far behind them with 25.
New Inter signing Edin Dzeko has picked up where Romelu Lukaku left off, scoring seven league goals in eight starts in his fledgling Nerazzurri career. Both sides have scored in every league game this season and have both conceded at a rate of almost exactly one goal per game.
Inter, who have conceded 12 times this season, have kept just three clean sheets in their opening 11 games, while AC Milan have conceded 10 times and kept four clean sheets. AC have failed to keep a clean sheet in Europe, while Inter have managed just one against group whipping boys Shakhtar Donetsk.
There should be plenty of goals on Sunday evening.
Long Shot: Rafael Leao to score first
Dzeko may boast the best goalscoring record of any player from either club, but most of his goals so far have come in the second half. Six of Dzeko’s eight goals for Inter Milan have come after the halftime whistle, making AC Milan top scorer Rafael Leao the best bet to open the goalscoring on Sunday.
Leao has scored five times for Milan in all competitions this season, with four of those coming in the league. All but one of his goals this season have come before half-time, while he has opened the scoring on three separate occasions.
The Portuguese forward appears to be coming into his own this season after missing a number of games through injury last year and can make his mark against AC’s biggest rivals.
* All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
AC Milan v Inter Milan tips
Value Bet: Draw
Safe Bet: Both teams to score
Long Shot: Rafael Leao to score first
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