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Trofeo Berlusconi Preview: The Derby della Madonnina Will Decide The Winner of The Trophy

Milan are facing Inter for the first time ever in the "Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi" for an early rematch of the Derby della Madonnina won by Nerazzurri in round 3.

Milan's youngster Gianluigi Donnarumma talking to the defense.
Milan's youngster Gianluigi Donnarumma talking to the defense.
Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images

The Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi used to be the last friendly match of the preseason but it has been postponed to a random mid-season week since last year losing a big part of its charm. It was traditionally a matter between Milan and Juventus. This year will be the fifth time without Juventus in the competition. So what's better than the Derby della Madonnina to bring the trophy to its old fashion?

Lineups

Milan's projected starting XI (4-3-3)

Donnarumma; De Sciglio, Mexès, Romagnoli, Antonelli; Poli, De Jong, Bertolacci; Honda, Luiz AdrianoCerci.

Inter's projected starting XI (4-4-2)

Carrizo; Montoya, Ranocchia, Popa, D'Ambrosio; Nagatomo, Kondogbia, Gnoukouri, Biabiany; Palacio, Manaj.

As it was highly predictable, it won't be the usual hyper-competitive Derby della Madonnina. In effect, both Roberto Mancini and Siniša Mihajlović decided to let some playing time to their reserves so players like Donnarumma, Montoya, Popa, D'Ambrosio and Manaj will have a good chance of showing their abilities during tonight's game.

Trofeo Berlusconi Stats

Milan lost in the first edition of the Trofeo Berlusconi in 1991 (goals by Paolo Maldini and Pierluigi Casiraghi) but they've been "dominating" since then, winning 13 times and losing only nine times against Juventus, so no other team has ever won this trophy. The top scorer of the Trofeo Berlusconi is Filippo Inzaghi with seven goals (three when he played at Juventus and four for Milan), followed by Alessandro Del Piero with four and then a long list of great players like Seedorf, Papin, Casiraghi, Serginho, Ambrosini and Robinho with two.