Reports: Bartesaghi gains advantage over Estupinan in battle for final spot vs. Inter

Two days before the derby between Inter and AC Milan at San Siro, it seems that Massimiliano Allegri has resolved his final selection doubt.

The good news for Allegri is that he has an almost clean bill of health. Only Santiago Gimenez should miss the game, and even that isn’t certain yet, while Adrien Rabiot returned over the break.

Final doubt resolved?

According to both Sky and MilanNews, 10 of the 11 players that will take to the field in the first Derby della Madonnina of 2025-26 have been set in stone for some time now. It starts with Mike Maignan in goal, plus Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic ahead of him.

The right wing-back will be Alexis Saelemaekers, and the midfield trio is expected to be Youssouf Fofana, Luka Modric and the returning Rabiot. For the first time this season in the league, Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao can start up front together.

That just leaves one issue to resolve: who will be the left wing-back? Well, both sources now believe that Davide Bartesaghi has overtaken Pervis Estupinan in the battle after Friday’s training session. Sky earlier stated that the Ecuadorian was in line to start, but that has now flipped.

Predicted Milan XI (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Leao, Pulisic. Coach: Allegri.