The English fan’s guide to the Derby della Madonnina

Kick-off: 7.45pm UK time (8.45pm in Italy), San Siro, Milan. Serie A Matchday 10.

In the UK and Ireland: DAZN shows every Serie A match this season, according to Yahoo Sports. TNT Sports and the BBC also have a share of Serie A games, so check their listings too.

In the US: Paramount+ streams every Serie A game this season. Kick-off is 3.45pm Eastern and 12.45pm Pacific.

In Italy: DAZN and Sky Sport.

The name comes from the Madonnina, the small gilded statue of the Virgin Mary on top of Milan’s cathedral, the Duomo. It looks down on the whole city, and on both of its great football clubs.

The story starts with an Englishman. AC Milan were founded in December 1899 as the Milan Cricket and Football Club, with Herbert Kilpin, from Nottingham, among the founders. That is why the club still uses the English spelling of the city’s name rather than the Italian Milano.

Less than a decade later, there was a split. In March 1908, a group of members broke away over the question of signing foreign players and founded Football Club Internazionale. The name was the point: A club open to the world. The first derby was played later that year, in October 1908, and Milan won 2-1.

More than a century later, the rivalry is as fierce as ever. Milan’s traditional support is often described as working-class and Inter’s as more bourgeois, though in modern Milan those lines have long since blurred. What remains is two clubs, one city and no neutral ground.

The most striking thing for English visitors is that both clubs play at the same stadium. San Siro was built for Milan and opened in September 1926. Inter moved in as tenants in 1947, and the ground has been shared ever since. In 1980, it was officially renamed the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, after the great forward who played for both clubs, although nearly everyone still calls it San Siro.

On derby night, the stadium splits in two. Milan’s ultras fill the Curva Sud at one end, Inter’s the Curva Nord at the other, and both stage huge choreographies before kick-off. According to Calciomercato.com, more than 77,000 people are expected tonight, the biggest crowd for this fixture since 2019. Before the game, Milan will induct Kaká into their Hall of Fame.

The old stadium does not have long left. The two clubs bought San Siro and the surrounding land from the city of Milan in November 2025 for €197 million, according to Il Post. Two days ago, on 29 October, they unveiled the design of its replacement: The Generali Stadium, designed by Foster + Partners and MANICA, with around 71,500 seats and two steep curves. According to Inter’s official website, construction is expected to start in 2028, with the first match targeted for the 2031-32 season, subject to approvals. Most of the old San Siro is due to be demolished once the new ground is ready.

That gives tonight an extra layer. Derbies at the old San Siro are now numbered.

According to Calciomercato.com, the two clubs have met 230 times in all competitions. Inter have won 85, Milan 76. In Serie A alone, it is 192 meetings, 73 Inter wins and 61 for Milan, with 58 draws.

The honours list is just as balanced. Inter won their 21st league title last season, two more than Milan’s 19. In Europe, Milan lead with seven European Cups and Champions Leagues, to Inter’s three.

Some derbies have entered folklore. Milan’s biggest win came on 11 May 2001, when they won 6-0, according to Wikipedia’s record of the fixture. Andriy Shevchenko is Milan’s top derby scorer with 14 goals, and Giuseppe Meazza holds the record for Inter with 12.

Here is the twist. Inter have been the better team in Serie A for several seasons, but they cannot beat Milan.

Inter have not won any of the last seven derbies in all competitions, with Milan winning five and two ending in draws. Inter have not won a derby since 2024. Last season, Milan won both league meetings 1-0, the second in March thanks to a goal from Pervis Estupiñán, even though Inter went on to win the title.

Inter coach Cristian Chivu has never beaten Milan as a coach. For Milan’s Ruben Amorim, the former Manchester United manager, this is his first Milan derby.

The two clubs arrive in very different moods.

Inter are joint top of Serie A with Lazio on 25 points from nine games, unbeaten, with eight wins and a draw. It is the club’s best total at this stage in the three-points-for-a-win era. But they have been winning ugly. They needed two stoppage-time goals to beat Fiorentina last Sunday and two late own goals to win 2-0 at bottom club Venezia on Wednesday. Afterwards, Chivu said bluntly that Inter had “played badly” and lacked energy.

They are also without their captain. Lautaro Martínez suffered a left hamstring strain earlier this month, according to LaPresse, and is expected to be out for around six weeks. Inter are also missing Benjamin Pavard, John Stones, Curtis Jones and Luis Henrique.

Milan are fifth with 18 points, seven behind Inter. Until Wednesday, they were unbeaten in the league. Then Bologna won 4-2 at San Siro. Amorim’s side also have injuries, with Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Alexis Saelemaekers, Samuel Chukwueze and Matteo Gabbia all out, according to Calciomercato.com.

The table makes the stakes simple. An Inter win would put them ten points clear of Milan and keep them level with or ahead of Lazio, who play on Sunday. A Milan win would cut the gap to four and put them right back in the title conversation.

Marcus Thuram (Inter). With Lautaro out, Thuram carries the attack. He scored the equaliser and won the winning penalty against Fiorentina, and Chivu has described his form as devastating.

Christian Pulisic (Milan). The American scored his second league goal of the season at Udinese last week and is in Milan’s predicted line-up, according to Calciomercato.com.

Luka Modrić (Milan). At 41, he still sets the tempo. His pass created Pulisic’s goal in Udine.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Inter). The former Milan midfielder is now Inter’s playmaker, and his set pieces matter in tight games.

Omari Hutchinson (Milan). On loan from Nottingham Forest, he scored his first Milan goal at Udinese. English fans will know him from the Championship and the Premier League.

You do not need to support either club to enjoy tonight. The derby is one of the great spectacles in world football: The choreographies, the noise, the sense that the whole city stops for 90 minutes.

This year, there is more than usual at stake. Inter are chasing their first derby win since 2024, without their captain, at the top of a title race. Milan are trying to save their season after a painful midweek defeat. And the stadium itself is counting down its final years.

If you have never watched an Italian game, this is the one to start with.