Saturday night’s Milan derby at the San Siro has all the makings of an entertaining encounter, and I’m backing both teams to score.

There has been an uptick in goals across Serie A this season, and these two heavyweights have been big contributors.

Indeed, both teams have scored in six of AC Milan’s opening nine league games of the season, with Inter posting an identical record. 

Even more encouraging is the fact that AC Milan come into this clash off the back of a 4-2 home defeat to Bologna on Wednesday night, while they have beaten Atalanta 3-2 in recent weeks and drew 2-2 away at Lazio last month.

As for Inter, they have also been involved in some high-scoring contests this season, particularly against Serie A’s big hitters, defeating Napoli 3-2 and drawing 2-2 with Roma.

Even in Europe, Christian Chivu’s side have found the net in Champions League defeats to Real Madrid and Club Brugge this season, strengthening the case for each team to oblige.

I think a minimum of nine match corners should be within range during this San Siro showdown.

Of the two rivals, Inter Milan have been the stronger corner performers this season, averaging 5.89 per 90 in Serie A.

That can be attributed to the fact that the Nerazzurri’s matches are generating an average of 9.00 corners per game, which is exactly what we’re looking for here.

Admittedly, AC Milan have been nowhere near as reliable on the corner front, but their 2-0 win at Udinese last weekend produced exactly 9 corners, with the hosts winning 5 and the Rossoneri 4, and I think we could see a similar total here. 

Adding weight to this selection is the fact that Milan’s home defeat to Benfica in the Europa League last month saw both teams combine for 11 corners, while there were 10 flag kicks in their 3-0 loss away at Bournemouth last week.

As one of Milan’s main threats, Pulisic has been a regular target for opposing players this season. 

Pulisic has drawn an average of 0.93 fouls per game in Serie A this term, earning his team a free-kick during Wednesday night’s 4-2 defeat to Bologna after coming off the bench for the final half-hour.

That means he has now drawn 4 fouls across his last five Serie A appearances, and there’s plenty of scope for that trend to continue in a fixture where sparks are almost certain to fly.

The AC Milan ace has been deployed in the number 10 role in recent outings, which should bring him into close contact with Hakan Calhanoglu.

The Inter midfielder has averaged 1.08 fouls per 90 in Serie A this season and has been penalised in each of his last two appearances, while he has overstepped the mark 3 times across his three Champions League outings for the Nerazzurri this term.

Nicolo Barella should be in the thick of a fiery midfield battle in Saturday night’s Milan derby, making the Inter ace worth backing to commit at least one foul.

The Italian international has been catching the attention of referees this season, averaging 0.81 fouls per game in Serie A, and a match of this magnitude should bring his combative side to the fore.

Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that Barella has committed 1 foul in each of his last three league outings, including against Venezia on Wednesday night despite featuring only in the second half.

Notably, he was also penalised once during Inter’s Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk last midweek.

He is likely to find himself operating in similar areas to Ardon Jashari, who was fouled once against Bologna on Wednesday night and has also been brought down in two of his three Europa League appearances for AC Milan this season.

Barella is also likely to cross paths with Luka Modric, who has drawn 0.80 fouls per game in the Italian top flight this term.

Saturday night’s Milan derby at the San Siro has all the makings of an entertaining encounter, and I’m backing both teams to score.

There has been an uptick in goals across Serie A this season, and these two heavyweights have been big contributors.

Indeed, both teams have scored in six of AC Milan’s opening nine league games of the season, with Inter posting an identical record. 

Even more encouraging is the fact that AC Milan come into this clash off the back of a 4-2 home defeat to Bologna on Wednesday night, while they have beaten Atalanta 3-2 in recent weeks and drew 2-2 away at Lazio last month.

As for Inter, they have also been involved in some high-scoring contests this season, particularly against Serie A’s big hitters, defeating Napoli 3-2 and drawing 2-2 with Roma.

Even in Europe, Christian Chivu’s side have found the net in Champions League defeats to Real Madrid and Club Brugge this season, strengthening the case for each team to oblige.

Monza's away games have been full of action this season, with both teams scoring in all five of them.

Their attack has been the main highlight so far.

They've scored in every Serie A game, while Gustavo Varela is the league's top scorer with eight goals in eight games.

The problem is their defence.

Monza have conceded 22 goals this season, and only Sassuolo have let in as many as that.

Away from home, they're letting in an average of 2.8 goals per game.

Bologna have been struggling defensively at home too, conceding in all four games and averaging 1.64 xGA.

On the other hand, their attack has been getting better.

They've scored 10 goals in their last five league games, including a 4-2 win over Milan, with Samuel Mbangula grabbing a hat-trick.

With both attacks in good form and neither defence looking particularly solid, there's a good chance we'll see goals at both ends here.

Werder Bremen have seen both teams score in all seven Bundesliga games this season and average seven shots on target per game, the 2nd-highest in the league.

They've also got the league's top scorer, Niclas Füllkrug, who's scored eight goals in seven games. 

He showed once again that he can cause problems even for strong defences, scoring twice against Dortmund in the German Cup in midweek.

Hoffenheim have been looking dangerous going forward too, averaging 18 shots and 1.9 xG per game.

They've scored in all three away games so far, but have also conceded seven goals, including three against Paderborn, one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league.

The defences are another big reason to fancy BTTS here.

Neither side has been particularly good at keeping goals out, with both conceding an average of two goals per game in the Bundesliga.

Fredrikstad have seen both teams score in their last seven league games and have conceded in 21 of their 24 Eliteserien matches this season.

At home, they've scored in 10 of their 11 games, including against Bodø/Glimt and Viking, two of the best defensive teams in the league.

Defence has been one of Fredrikstad's biggest problems, with 41 goals conceded this season and an average of 1.73 xGA per game.

Rosenborg are a real threat going forward, averaging almost two goals per game and coming into this one in great form, having scored 15 goals in their last five league matches.

Amin Chiakha has been their standout player, scoring 15 league goals and finding the net in five straight games.

Despite having one of the best defences in the league, Rosenborg are averaging 1.61 xGA away from home.

Another reason to fancy BTTS here is that Rosenborg have recently conceded against Kristiansund and Sandefjord, two of the lowest-scoring teams in the Eliteserien.

NEC Nijmegen are definitely a team to keep an eye on for BTTS this Eredivisie season, with both teams scoring in nine of their 10 league games.

They've conceded in every single league game, including against PEC Zwolle and Willem II, the two lowest-scoring teams in the competition.

Away from home, NEC are averaging two goals and 1.74 xG per game, and they've even managed to score against Ajax, who have one of the best defences in the league.

Heerenveen have been looking good going forward too, scoring seven goals in their last two league games and averaging 1.63 xG this season.

Jacob Trenskow has been in great form, scoring twice in his last game and taking his tally to six league goals, making him Heerenveen's main attacking threat.

Heerenveen will need to be careful, though.

They're giving away an average of 14 shots per home game and are now facing an NEC side who might struggle to keep a clean sheet, but rarely fail to score themselves.

Bayern Munich head into this big game with the best attack in the Bundesliga, having scored 25 goals in seven matches.

Their numbers at home are even more impressive, with 18 goals in just three games, an average of six per match.

Despite being so strong going forward, Bayern have conceded in their last six games in all competitions, including against Augsburg, Viking and even second-division Magdeburg.

Dortmund have the best defence in the Bundesliga, but they've struggled to keep clean sheets against teams with strong attacks, like Werder Bremen and Bayern themselves in the Super Cup.

The two sides met back in August in a game where both teams scored and Dortmund allowed Bayern 21 shots.

The good news for Dortmund is that they've got Guirassy, who scored seven goals in all competitions and has been their biggest attacking threat, helping the team average 1.65 xG in the Bundesliga.

The last five meetings between Bayern and Dortmund have all seen goals at both ends, and with both attacks looking dangerous lately, BTTS looks like a great option here.