Inter begin their title defence against Monza
Inter vs. Monza and Udinese vs. Como will kick off the 2026/27 Serie A season. San Siro will immediately stage the Lombardy derby, with the Nerazzurri beginning their title defence while Monza look to claim their first opening-day victory, having lost their first two Serie A season openers before drawing the most recent one against Empoli in the 2024/25 campaign, which ultimately ended in relegation.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
There have been 6 official meetings between the two sides in Milan: 4 Inter wins (the latest a 3-2 victory in Serie A 2024/25) and 2 Monza wins (the latest a 0-1 victory in Serie A 2022/23).
Inter-Monza will be the second official meeting on Matchday 1: the first was Inter-Monza 2-0, with a Lautaro Martinez brace in 2023/24.
DID YOU KNOW?
Inter are unbeaten in their last 12 official matches: 9 wins and 3 draws, with 33 goals scored. Their last defeat came on 8 March against Milan (1-0).
Inter are unbeaten on Matchday 1 for 7 consecutive seasons: 6 wins and 1 draw. Their last defeat came in 2018/19 against Sassuolo (1-0).
The reigning Serie A champions have not lost their opening league game since 23 August 2015 (Juventus-Udinese 0-1). In the following 10 season openers, the reigning champions have recorded 9 wins and 1 draw.
Monza are winless on Matchday 1: 1 draw (0-0 against Empoli in 2024/25) and 2 defeats (1-2 against Torino in 2022/23 and 2-0 against Inter in 2023/24).
Monza have failed to keep a clean sheet away from home in Serie A in their last 15 official matches: their last clean sheet came on 21 October 2024 (0-3 against Verona).
Monza have reached the Coppa Italia Round of 32: in their first official match of the season, they eliminated Avellino 3-0 at the Brianteo, with a Varela brace and a Forson goal.
COACHES and PLAYERS
Cristian Chivu and Ivan Juric will meet for the first time as coaches in an official match. As players, the record was 2 wins for the Nerazzurri coach and 2 draws across the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons. This will be the third official meeting between a Romanian and a Croatian coach, after Chivu-Tudor in Parma-Juventus 1-0 (2024/25) and Juventus-Inter 4-3 (2025/26).
Cristian Chivu is one of 6 coaches to manage a club they previously played for, alongside Aquilani (Sassuolo), Pisacane (Cagliari), Fabregas (Como), Allegri (Napoli) and Abate (Torino).
No player scored more goals than Lautaro Martinez (17) in the 2025/26 season. The last Serie A top scorer to win the scoring title with fewer than 20 goals was Gianluca Vialli (19 goals in 1990/91, when Sampdoria won the league).
No player provided more assists than Federico Dimarco (18) in the 2025/26 season.
No players scored more goals from outside the box than Hakan Çalhanoğlu and Piotr Zieliński (5) in the 2025/26 season.
DISCIPLINE
Suspended: Mkhitaryan (Inter); Thiam, Mota (Monza)
Cautioned: none
REFEREE
MARINELLI (DI GIOIA – PALERMO) IV: DI MARCO VAR: GARIGLIO AVAR: MARINI
UPCOMING MATCHES
Cagliari-Inter (30/8, 20.45)
Monza-Udinese (29/8, 18.30)
(Photo Getty Images)