AC Milan will host Inter at San Siro for the first leg of the Champions League semifinals Wednesday as the Rossoneri will meet their city rivals for the third time in the history of the competition. This is the second time the two sides meet in the semifinals, the first in 2002-03 when AC Milan managed to knock out Inter and then later won the competition after winning against Juventus in penalties. No Rafael Leao in this one for Milan as he misses out due to injury.
Here's what you need to know:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Wednesday, May 10 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: San Siro -- Milan, Italy
- TV: CBS | Live stream: Paramount+
- Tactical Cam: CBS Sports Golazo Network
- Odds: AC Milan +205; Draw: +210; Inter +145 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
How they got here
AC Milan: This season, the Rossoneri picked up ten points in Group E to finish three behind Chelsea – who beat them 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and 2-0 at San Siro – clinching second place thanks to 4-0 victories in each of their last two games, at Dinamo Zagreb and at home to Salzburg. Those wins equaled the club's biggest margins of victory in the UEFA Champions League. They then edged past Tottenham in the round of 16, Brahim Díaz's seventh-minute strike in the first leg at San Siro proving to be the only goal of the tie. AC Milan then squeezed past Napoli in the quarterfinals, winning 1-0 in the home first leg thanks to Ismael Bennacer's 40th-minute strike. Olivier Giroud extended the aggregate advantage two minutes before halftime in the Naples second leg, Milan holding on despite conceding an equalizer on the night in added time.
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Inter: This season Inter's Group C campaign started and finished with 2-0 defeats against Bayern Munchen, but they remained unbeaten in between those losses, collecting ten points including a decisive four against Barcelona and wrapping up progress with a 4-0 success at home to Viktoria Plzen on Matchday 5. The Nerazzurri then edged past Porto in the round of 16, winning 1-0 in Milan before holding out for a goalless draw in Portugal, and they overcame another Portuguese side in the last eight, a 2-0 first-leg win at Benfica preceding a 3-3 draw in Milan in which Inter led 3-1 until the 86th minute.
Team news
AC Milan: Stefano Pioli's main worry is the presence of Rafael Leao as he'll miss the first leg after he picked up a minor muscular injury last weekend against Lazio. The Portuguese winger will be in doubt to play until the very last minute on Wednesday as the Rossoneri coach wants to avoid risking him despite being the most talented player in the roster.
Possible AC Milan XI: Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Kjaer, Theo Hernandez; Tonali, Krunic; Brahim Diaz, Bennacer, Rebic; Giroud.
Inter: Simone Inzaghi has two major doubts ahead of the game against AC Milan. The Inter coach has to decide to exclude one from the starting eleven between Marcelo Brozovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella. This will be the main doubt for Inzaghi alongside the striker, with Edin Dzeko favorite to start instead of Romelu Lukaku.
Possible Inter XI: Onana; Darmian, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Mkhitaryan, Brozovic, Barella, Dimarco; Dzeko, Lautaro.
Prediction
It will definitely be a tense game, but as happened in 2003 when these two sides met in the Champions League semifinals, they will be extra careful to not concede goals in the first game. Pick: AC Milan 0, Inter 0.
