MILAN - (Football Data) - Facts and figures related to Saturday evening's Milan
derby (2):
Milan derbies in April - Nerazzurri in command
Saturday evening's derby is the 17th to be played in the month of April since the Serie
A became a one-division championship in 1929/30. Inter have the edge over their
cross-city rivals with 8 victories to 5. The last time a Milan derby was played in April
was in 1997, when the Nerazzurri won 3-1. The last draw was a 1-1 affair in 1993,
while AC Milan's last victory in an April derby was a 1-0 home win in 1992.
Both Milanese sides within reach of historical record
With seven matches of the Serie A season to play, Inter and AC Milan are virtually
assured of qualification to next season's Champions League as they currently enjoy a
10- and 7-point advantage respectively over the fifth-placed club. No Italian team that has taken part in the preliminary round of the competition has managed to qualify for the Champions League again the following season. The first Italian side to contest the
preliminary round of Europe's most prestigious cup competition was Parma in 1997/98. The Emilians went on finish the domestic season in sixth place. Inter played in the preliminary round in 1997/98 and finished the Serie A in eighth spot. In 1999/00, Parma and Fiorentina finished the Italian championship in fifth and seventh positions respectively. Inter and AC Milan were fifth and sixth respectively in the 2000/01 Serie A, while Lazio finished sixth and Parma tenth last season.
Vieri v Inzaghi
Inter v AC Milan sees the two top scorers in Italy this season up against each other.
With 26 efforts (24 in the Serie A, 2 in the Champions League) to his credit, Christian
Vieri leads Pippo Inzaghi by a single goal.
Defeat for Inter would equal club's second most negative series in home
derbies
Inter are without a win in the last five Milan derbies played at 'home'. The Nerazzurri's
last win at home to AC Milan was a 1-0 victory in the Coppa Italia on 21 January 1998,
courtesy of Branca's goal in the 32nd minute. Since then, Inter have managed 2 draws
and 3 defeats. Should Inter not win on Saturday, they will equal their second most
negative series of results in Madonnina derbies played at home. The worst series of
results is 9 matches without a win - 3 draws and 6 defeats between 1986/87 and
1993/94 (8 Serie A matches and 1 Coppa Italia tie), while the second most negative
run of form was 6 matches without a win between 1974/75 and 1978/79 - 3 draws and
3 defeats in 5 championship matches and 1 Coppa Italia game.
