Sunday’s Milan derby carries enormous weight at both ends of the table, but Inter will be without their captain as Lautaro Martinez continues his recovery from the muscular injury sustained during the Champions League playoff first leg against Bodo/Glimt on 18 February.

Inter’s official medical bulletin confirmed the Argentine suffered a soleus muscle problem in his left leg, and he has not featured since.

The most optimistic scenario points to a return for the Serie A trip to Fiorentina on 22 March, meaning he would also miss next week’s Inter-Atalanta fixture.

Should his recovery take longer, the earliest he could feature is the Inter-Roma clash on 4 April, according to Goal.

His availability for Argentina’s Finalissima against Spain on 27 March also remains uncertain and will depend entirely on his progress in the coming weeks.

Dumfries returns to Inter XI for Milan derby

There is, however, a significant positive for Cristian Chivu ahead of the derby, via IlMilanista.

Denzel Dumfries is back in contention for a starting role after four months on the sidelines, and the Inter head coach is seriously considering handing the Dutchman his first start since returning from injury.

Luis Henrique’s performances on the right flank have been inconsistent, and with no reinforcements arriving in January, Chivu had been managing the situation carefully while waiting for Dumfries to regain full fitness.

That patience now appears ready to be rewarded, with the former PSV man set to reclaim his place as the undisputed first choice on Inter’s right side for one of the season’s most important fixtures.

The Derby della Madonnina between Milan and Inter in Serie A is fast approaching, and the league have confirmed that Daniele Doveri will be the man with the whistle in San Siro on Sunday evening. 

Doveri confirmed as referee for Milan vs. Inter 

Milan will be the home side for Sunday’s derby in San Siro. The Rossoneri are currently in second place, 10 points behind the table-topping Nerazzurri after 27 matches of the 2025-26 campaign. 

Referee Doveri will take charge of Sunday’s derby. The 48-year-old has taken charge of 14 matches in Italy so far this season: 13 in Serie A and one in Serie B. 

Doveri has refereed Milan twice so far this season: Once for the 3-0 win over Udinese in September and once for the 1-1 draw with Atalanta in October. Matteo Gabbia, Luka Modric and Santiago Gimenez were shown yellow cards in the 1-1 draw with La Dea. 

Doveri has taken charge of three matches involving Inter so far this season: For their 2-1 win away against Hellas Verona in November, their 2-1 win away against Genoa in December and most recently, the 2-2 draw with Napoli in January. 

Doveri showed yellow cards to Yann Bisseck against Verona, and to Manuel Akanji, Bisseck again and Nicolo Barella against Genoa. 

This will not be Doveri’s first Derby della Madonnina either: He has taken charge of four in his career to date: The 2-0 win for Inter in 2019, the 3-0 Nerazzurri victory in 2021, the 1-1 draw later that same year and Milan’s 3-0 win over Inter in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final last season. 

Doveri has refereed Milan 34 times, resulting in 19 wins, nine draws and six defeats for the Rossoneri. He has taken charge of 39 Inter matches, resulting in 16 wins, 10 draws and 13 losses.

Strahinja Pavlovic has revealed that he spoke to Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic and former Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic before deciding to join Milan from RB Salzburg in the summer of 2024 and claims that Serie A is the best league he’s played in: ‘In these two short years, I’ve learned more than the last six of my career’. 

The Rossoneri defender spoke in-depth to La Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of the Derby della Madonnina between Milan and Inter coming up in Serie A on Sunday evening. 

• Read more: Kaka picks one Inter player he’d steal for Milan and picks derby MVP 

Pavlovic on joining Milan, talks with Vlahovic and improving under Allegri 

Pavlovic claims that he has learned more from playing in Serie A than he had done across six years of his career across Serbia, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. Being at Milan and playing under Massimiliano Allegri specifically has played a major role in his development. 

“You just have to walk around Milanello to understand how many legends have played here, there are pictures everywhere: In the dining room, in the gym … It makes me happy to wear the same shirt that they wore. It’s a great feeling, it’s hard to describe.” 

Pavlovic revealed which of his Serbian teammates he spoke to before joining Milan: “I called Luka Jovic who was here last season, but I also spoke with Milenkovic and Vlahovic to find out more about the Italian division.” 

He insists that moving to Serie A has been the most insightful step of his career: “Milan is the biggest club I’ve played for so far and Serie A is stronger than Austria, France and Serbia. Everything is different here, there are no easy games. And in these two short years, I’ve learned more than the last six of my career. For a defender, it’s the perfect league to grow.

“The coach puts a lot of attention on the defence and we’ve made a lot of progress. The credit is not only due to the defenders, though, because we need everyone’s help. The forwards and midfielders lend us a big hand as well.

“(I’ve learned) so many little things. I’ve started paying attention to little details that I hadn’t even considered before, which makes the difference.” 

After a difficult 2024-25 season in which Milan finished in eighth place, missing out on European football altogether for 2025-26, the Rossoneri now find themselves in second, albeit 10 points off their city rivals, Inter. 

Are Milan ‘happy’ with their season so far?
“It’s a difficult question,” Pavlovic pondered. “We’re happy compared to last year, the goal at the beginning of the season was to get into the top four and we are in the running to achieve that. But looking at our performance, we could have had more points, so there is a bit of regret. 

“There are still 11 games to go and we will do everything we can to get the most out of them.” 

Click here to read the full interview with Pavlovic

Fabio Capello notes that Inter ‘have become a bit slow’ in defence, so Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao can ’cause problems’ for the Nerazzurri in the derby, but also tells Leao to ‘show real fighting spirit.’

The Derby della Madonnina is just around the corner as Milan and Inter will meet at San Siro this coming Sunday.

The Nerazzurri are the table leaders with a 10-point advantage over their city rivals who sit second in the standings.

Inter played Como away on Tuesday in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals, but both sides’ focus seemed to be elsewhere.

Capello previews Milan vs. Inter derby

“Inter were already thinking a lot about Sunday’s Derby. The Coppa Italia semifinal was undeniably disappointing, played at a very slow pace by both teams, including Como, which seemed more focused on qualifying for the Champions League,” Capello wrote in his column for Gazzetta dello Sport.

Leao is expected to lead the Milan attack on Sunday after scoring a goal in a 2-0 win over Cremonese on Sunday.

“I heard the Portuguese speaking with grit and determination. Well, I would like to see him just as determined on the pitch, showing real fighting spirit and all of his undeniable qualities,” wrote Capello.

“Many times, he ends up disappearing for certain stretches of the match, and for him, it’s to make an important leap.

“Milan certainly won’t be able to avoid lapses in concentration, as Inter’s quality is much higher,” the ex-Rossoneri coach continued.

“Allegri will have to be careful not to give Inter space, especially when Calhanoglu is on the field, as he is extremely skilled at switching the play out to the wings, where Inter are strong.

“That said, Inter have recently been giving away something in defence, they’ve become a bit slow, and therefore Leao and Pulisic, with their qualities, could also cause problems for the league leaders.”

Milan have only lost two Serie A games this season, but their city rivals have been far more consistent, winning 22 league matches out of 27.

“Milan’s victory would keep the title race more alive, but for the good of our football, the neutral fan should, above all, hope for a match that is enjoyable, played at a high tempo, competitive, well refereed, with the game allowed to flow and without continuous interruptions,” concluded Capello.

“After all, we’re talking about first and second place in the standings, facing each other in a match broadcast in many countries abroad. It would be important to show that Italian football is high-quality and not boring to watch.”

Massimiliano Allegri is considering handing Christopher Nkunku a surprise start in Sunday evening’s Milan derby, with Christian Pulisic’s ongoing physical struggles opening the door for the Frenchman to make his mark in one of the season’s biggest fixtures.

The latest news comes via Goal, as preparations continue ahead of Sunday’s huge derby clash.

Pulisic has been hampered by bursitis for several weeks, and the numbers tell a difficult story, the American has not scored since December, is yet to find the net in 2026, and has not completed a full 90 minutes since January.

His appearance at Cremonese left onlookers concerned, with the former Chelsea man visibly drained and deflated as he returned to the bench.

Nkunku, by contrast, has been sharper whenever called upon recently.

Allegri weighs up Milan derby start for Nkunku as form improves

His assist for Rafael Leao’s second goal at Cremonese, a moment of composure and quality that arrived in just a few minutes off the bench, has accelerated Allegri’s thinking considerably.

The Frenchman has grown notably in form and sharpness since the turn of the year, and his developing chemistry with Leao is another factor working in his favour.

Their shared celebration at Cremona was widely read as a symbol of a growing on-pitch connection that could prove significant against Inter.

Allegri will retain his trusted 3-5-2 for the derby, with Modric and Rabiot expected to be central figures in midfield.

There is also positive news from the treatment room, with Davide Bartesaghi’s muscular injury proving less serious than feared, leaving the young defender in contention to start.