Although the two teams were raring to go before the match, Sacchi believed that Milan had the upper hand in terms of desire to win. Due to their elimination from the Champions League and having only gained one point in the last two league matches, Milan urgently needed a victory to boost morale and had a stronger desire to fight. On the other hand, Inter Milan had received too much praise recently, which might lead to some relaxation. Sacchi believed that Milan could score 8 points for fighting spirit, while Inter Milan scored 7 points.
Sacchi thought that despite Inter being the favorite, there were too many uncertain factors in this derby, making it hard to predict the outcome. The famous Italian coach pointed out three factors influencing the game's direction: first, the impact of national team matches on both teams. Inter Milan had as many as 17 players called up, while AC Milan had 12 players serving their countries. Their physical condition and form would be an unknown factor. Second, injuries. Both Milan teams had several injured players, including those who got hurt while playing for their national teams like Chiellini and Van Bommel. Whether they could recover in time was also uncertain. Third, key players missing due to suspensions, such as Ibrahimovic and Lucio. How the coaches of both teams would replace them was also a critical factor affecting the game.
Sacchi also evaluated the current rosters of the two Milan teams, giving Inter Milan 6 points and AC Milan 5 points. In terms of teamwork, the Italian coach still favored Inter Milan, scoring them 8 points and AC Milan 6 points; in midfield battles, Gattuso and Van Bommel versus Cambiasso and Zanetti were evenly matched, both scoring 6 points; technically, Inter Milan scored 9 points, slightly inferior to AC Milan’s 10 points. Finally, the Italian coach gave his overall evaluation: Inter Milan was more popular, but ultimately, it all depended on how the two teams performed on the field.
Regarding the Milan Derby coming up this weekend, the renowned Italian coach Sacchi also shared his views in his column in the "Milan Sports Daily." This former Milan coach believed that Inter Milan was the big favorite in this showdown, but AC Milan had more energy than its opponent. Nevertheless, no matter what, the winner of the derby wouldn't easily take the championship.
From the third point of view, Inter Milan was relatively less affected, Sacchi believed that the importance of Ibrahimovic to Milan was self-evident. Allegri needed to re-strategize and deploy the attack line, and it was difficult to determine how effective it would be. But without Lucio, Leonardo was affected much less, as they had some other players who could replace the Brazilian.