Inter and AC Milan head into their derby on Sunday on a roll, with the current Serie A champions on top of the standings and fresh from a stunning Italian Cup win, while the European champs this week won the Club World Cup and become the team with the most trophys in the world.
AC Milan, which has its Italian Cup match Thursday night against Catania, will be out on Sunday to prove that it can play at home as well as it does abroad and deal its cross city rival their first defeat of the season.
Observers agree that the European champions do not deserve their poor position in the Serie A standings, only 18 points with a game in hand compared to 40 for Inter.
Inter in the derby will not only seek to humiliate AC Milan but most of all to maintain and, hopefully, extend their seven-point lead over second-placed AS Roma and eight-point lead over Juventus of Turin.
The team was in top form Wednesday night when it thrashed Reggina 4-1 on their own turf even without the stellar forward lineup of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Riccardo Cruz and David Suazo.
Sunday's derby will see Inter and Milan meet without their Brazilian stars Adriano and Ronaldo, respectively, who have both failed to live up to their promise and are expected to finish the year elsewhere.
The Italian sports press reported on Thursday Inter has loaned Adriano to the the Brazilian side Sao Paulo for six months, while AC Milan is said to more than just tempted by an offer from the Istanbul club Fenerbahce which would give the Italian club seven million euros and Ronaldo four for a permanent transfer.
Ronaldo's star in AC Milan has been vastly overshadowed by that of his co-national Kaka', who this week crowned an extraordinary year by capturing the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
This came just days after AC Milan won the Club World Cup and a month after Kaka' was awarded the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) for being European Footballer of the Year.
Kaka was already voted the world's best player in October by a global jury of his peers, the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro).
His brother Diago, who plays for AC Milan in the youth league, is expected to make his debut with the senior team Thursday in its Italian Cup match with Catania.
AC Milan, like Inter on Wednesday night, will field a team of reserves in order to keep its first string fresh for Sunday's derby.
Other fixtures on Sunday include AS Roma hosting Sampdoria of Genoa, while Juve will host Siena and this season's dark horse Udinese receives Empoli.
Sunday's matches will be the last before a three-week holiday break. Serie A play resumes on January 13.
