Internazionale v Milan: Serie A – live! | Football

27 mins: This is such a fun game, high-paced, loud-atmosphered, full of goalmouth action. Milan are knocking on the door again as I type, winning another corner.

24 mins: What a chance for Inter! Lukaku screams past Romagnoli on the right and pulls back for Vecino, whose first time shot goes straight to the keeper!

22 mins: Milan are back on the goal hunt, zipping the ball about from left to right before Samu Castillejo attempts a couple of crosses. One is a little overstrong, the other hits Young and rebounds for a corner, which Padelli claims.

20 mins: The referee gives Inter a free kick, after one of Rebic’s fingers gently flicks Vecino in the upper chest/lower neck area, sending the Uruguayan to the turf clutching his face. It is one of the least free-kicky free kicks I’ve ever seen.

18 mins: A long-range shot deflects to Alexis, whose shot deflects for a corner, which deflects for another corner. This one is headed just wide of the far post by Godin, rising highest in the middle.

16 mins: Milan continue to look most likely. Rebic has a shot from the edge of the area that hits Vecino and rebounds back to him, and his second effort goes wide.

12 mins: A bit of attacking action from Inter, as Ashley Young wins a corner on the left. It’s sent into the area where half a dozen people throw limbs at it, but it ends up in the arms of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

9 mins: Now Milan hit the post! Barella gives the ball away when trying to beat three men inside his own half and Calhanoglu hammers a low shot from 25 yards that screams past Padelli and thumps the meat of the far post! From there it rebounds into a defender and rolls conveniently to Padelli.

7 mins: Another chance for Milan! This time Calhanoglu’s low centre runs to Rebic, who thumps it into a defender when very well placed.

5 mins: Ibrahimovic has the ball, about 30 yards from goal. Two runners sprint past him on the right, and really the pass to release Kessie was an easy one. But the Swede fluffs it, and Padelli collects.

3 mins: I assume that when Milan worked on that corner on the training ground it did not turn out quite so hopelessly.

2 mins: A really bright start from Milan. Now Rebic bursts into the penalty area and wins a corner.

1 min: The first shot of the night comes from the left boot of Franck Kessie, just outside the area, but it hits a defender. A few seconds later, Ibrahimovic miscues a ludicrously difficult volley over the bar.

It is 61 years since Inter won more than eight consecutive home derbies, which is the number they’re currently on. They managed nine in a row ending in 1959, and 10 in a row ending in 1938. In other news, tonight’s referee is Fabio Maresca. It is his fourth Inter game of the season (they’ve won the other three) and his second Milan match (they lost the other one).

While we wait for today’s game to kick off, here are highlights of Inter’s 2-0 derby win in September:

Christian Eriksen, you’ll notice, is not in the Inter line-up. He’s on the bench along with Victor Moses and Samir Handanovic, Inter’s not-quite-fit-enough captain and first-choice goalkeeper.

The team sheets are in, and today’s starting line-ups look like this:

Internazionale: Padelli, Godin, De Vrij, Skriniar, Candreva, Vecino, Brozovic, Barella, Young, Sanchez, Lukaku.
Milan: Donnarumma, Conti, Kjær, Romagnoli, Hernandez, Castillejo, Kessiè, Bennacer, Rebic, Hakan; Ibrahimovic.

Hello world!

Well here’s a treat! Instead of an afternoon watching Manchester City and West Ham battle against Storm Ciara, I get an evening with the Milan derby. Thanks Ciara! Inter will join Juventus on 54 points after 23 games if they win (they would still be in second place because of an inferior head-to-head record), while victory would take Milan from a slightly embarrassing level-with-Cagliari 32 points to 35, enough for sixth place.

There will be plenty of familiar faces for those anglophiles whose attention rarely wanders as far as Italy: Zlatan Ibahimovic is in the Milan squad (as is Asmir Begovic, though he has less chance of actually playing), while Inter have a squad stuffed with Premier League outcasts, including Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Christian Eriksen, Victor Moses and Ashley Young, all of whom played in last week’s 2-0 win at Udinese (Sanchez off the bench).

This fixture has a pretty one-sided recent history: of the 18 matches since Milan won the 2011 Supercoppa Inter have won nine and lost two (plus a third after extra time, which either counts or doesn’t depending on the rules you’re playing by). When they last met in September Inter won 2-0. Can Milan put up more of a fight playing away from home (kind of)? We’re about to find out!