A Friday for the Lions. Usually the championship rounds start with “soft” races, but this one is definitely an exception: in fact, the 15th will be kicked off by Inter-Parma (18.30 pm) and, above all, Atalanta-Milan (20.45), very delicate challenges both in terms of the Scudetto and the Champions League. The big clash, for obvious reasons, is the one in Bergamo, where Gasperini and Fonseca will battle it out for the top of the table, but the one in San Siro also hides several points of interest, with Inter called upon to break the Parma taboo (they haven't beaten them at home since 2013) to continue the race on Napoli, yesterday defeated (and eliminated) by Lazio in the Coppa Italia (3-1, hat-trick by Noslin and goal by Simeone).
Atalanta – Milan (20.45pm, Dazn and Sky)
The Gewiss Stadium becomes the center of the championship, the theater of a match that could give several indications on the standings. Atalanta has the chance to overtake Napoli and jump to first place, although waiting for Conte's response, which would definitely put them out in the open in the title race. Milan, for their part, is more detached, but a possible victory would project them back into the race, especially since they still have the famous match in Bologna to play. The match, beyond the points, promises to be a spectacle also for the characteristics of the two teams, characterized by the search for goals and beautiful play: the Goddess, not surprisingly, has by far the best attack of the tournament (36 goals, 5 more than second-placed Inter) and even the Devil, despite scoring significantly less (23), certainly does not speculate on the result. The form seems more than good for both, with the Nerazzurri coming off eight consecutive wins between the league and the cup (11 in the last 12) and the Rossoneri with seven useful results, the last three particularly positive against Sassuolo, Empoli and Slovan Bratislava. Milan have kept a clean sheet in six of the last 10 league games, including two clean sheets in the two most recent matches (0-0 against Juventus and 3-0 against Empoli): the Rossoneri have not achieved three consecutive since February 2023, when the third was against Atalanta (2-0 victory). Fonseca's team, however, have won only two of the six away games this season (2-1 against Inter and 1-0 against Monza) and could remain with so few successes after the first seven away games of the season in Serie A for the first time since 2018/19 (also then only two wins).
Fonseca: “We have grown, but still far from what I want”
“It’s never a good time to face Atalanta,” Fonseca stressed. “We are growing and the team is confident, but we know that playing them is always difficult. They are coming off 8 wins in a row with 26 goals scored and only conceding four, they are very strong and it will be very difficult, but we are ready. The team is better, there is less apprehension. This depends on how the team defends which brings confidence and stability, three games ago there was discouragement in the defensive phase, now no and I think the boys are at ease, this also brings courage in attacking. There are many things I am satisfied with, such as the growth of the players which is very important to me: I want to win, but seeing those who work with me grow makes me happy. Being coach of Milan is a privilege, but today I am still a bit far from what I would like to see. Leao? I think he still has room for improvement, but in the last few games he has also done well in terms of defensive attitude. I am not fully satisfied, because he has the quality to do better and he has to think about this. He scored five goals, he has to think about scoring 20, expect more from himself and be ambitious. The path is right, but he must not stop…”.
Atalanta – Milan, probable formations
Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Koussonou, Hien, Kolasinac; Bellanova, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; Pasalic, De Ketelaere; Lookman
On the bench: Rui Patricio, Rossi, Djimsiti, Toloi, Scalvini, Godfrey, Palestra, Sulemana, Comi, Brescianini, Zaniolo, Retegui, Vlahovic
Coach: Gasperini (suspended, Gritti on the bench)
Unavailable: Scamacca, Zappacosta, Cuadrado
Disqualified: none
Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Emerson Royal, Cage, Thiaw, Theo Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Musah, Pulisic, Leao; Morata
On the bench: Sportiello, Torriani, Calabria, Tomori, Pavlovic, Terracciano, Loftus-Cheek, Chukwueze, Okafor, Abraham, Camarda
Coach: Fonseca
Unavailable: Florenzi, Bennacer, Jovic
Disqualified: none
Inter – Parma (18.30pm, Dazn) kicks off Friday's action
However, Inter and Parma will kick things off, playing in the 18:30 advance. An unusual aperitif for the Nerazzurri fans, who hope to win and then enjoy the challenge in Bergamo, with the certainty of gaining points on someone, maybe both. On paper, Inzaghi's team is obviously the favorite, especially after having taken a breather in Florence, but Pecchia's team, in addition to being a giant killer (the last one was Lazio last Sunday), has a rather positive tradition in Inter's San Siro. The 1 sign on the bet slip, in fact, has been missing since April 21, 2013 (1-0, goal by Rocchi): since then, the Nerazzurri have recorded four draws and one defeat, for what is the longest open streak of home games without a win against a single opponent in the championship. But statistics, as important as they are, cannot photograph 100% of the values on the field and those clearly smile on Inzaghi, who has returned to handle his supercar at its best after the slip-ups at the beginning of the season. Since the derby loss on September 22, in fact, Inter has almost always won, collecting 10 successes and 2 draws in 12 games between the league and the Champions League. Excellent numbers, even if not yet enough to overtake Napoli and take the top spot in the standings. A possible victory over Parma would not be enough to fly to the top, but it would certainly put further pressure on Napoli, called to a rather complicated match against Lazio.
Inter – Parma, probable formations
Inter (3-5-2): Summer; Bisseck, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Thuram, Lautaro
On the bench: Martinez, Di Gennaro, Palacios, Darmian, Carlos Augusto, Asllani, Zielinski, Frattesi, Buchanan, Taremi, Arnautovic, Correa
Coach: Inzaghi
Unavailable: Pavard, Acerbi
Disqualified: none
Parma (4-2-3-1): Suzuki; Coulibaly, Delprato, Balogh, Valeri; Keita, Sohm; Man, Haj, Cancellieri; Bonny
On the bench: Chichizola, Corvi, Leoni, Camara, Hainaut, Estevez, Hernani, Valenti, Mihaila, Almqvist
Coach: Pecchia
Unavailable: Charpentier, Kowalski, Circati, Bernabé, Di Chiara, Cyprien, Benedyczak
Disqualified: none
