10 points ahead of their city neighbours last term and outspending them three times over this summer, many expected Inter to be outshining AC Milan during the early stages of the current campaign.
Even the eleventh hour removal of coach Roberto Mancini from the Nerazzurri dugout could not lower expectations, as in came a well-decorated progressive young replacement in Frank de Boer from Ajax.
However, as Milan braces itself for the first Derby della Madonnina of the season, it is the Rossoneri who are currently better poised to make a long-awaited challenge for Champions League football which the city has only been able savour as final hosts of late.
Yet, with Silvio Berlusconi determined to hand the club over to foreign investors during the summer, the Milanisti were forced to accept that there would be no Zlatan Ibrahimovic-style superstar arrivals to inspire a revival.
Instead, the somewhat uninspiring names of Gianluca Lapadula, Gustavo Gomez and Jose Sosa came in to little fanfare, and previously discarded Gabriel Paletta and Suso returned from loan spells.
The Rossoneri had also shown a somewhat scattergun approach to their recruitment policy, as coach Vincenzo Montella replaced Sinisa Mihajlovic to become the fifth permanent post-holder in four seasons.
However, the uncertainty around Milan gave the 42-year-old something that the now departed de Boer should have been afforded by the Nerazzurri – time to develop his methods – without the disruption of incoming and outgoing players.
Even though results were inconsistent during eight months at Sampdoria, Montella looks to be moulding the Rossoneri into a close-knit cohesive group like he had at Fiorentina.
With this, Sunday’s encounter at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza is not the only reason for Milan fans to feel confident, given the youthful exuberance of the current group.
Throughout the spine of the team, from Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alessio Romagnoli and Manuel Locatelli to M’Baye Niang, the future looks bright even without Berlusconi-esque investment.
Inter by comparison – much like the trophy sparse years of the late nineties and early millennium – appear to be randomly acquiring a collection of expensive names that are viewed as little more than mercenaries.
That said, this will count for little during a derby when stunning football rarely steals headlines, and one of those highly paid Nerazzurri men – if they can ease the goalscoring dependence on Mauro Icardi – can become an instant hero.
Milan should also be wary of the newly appointed Stefano Pioli, who will prove a steady hand steering the Inter ship for this match and remainder of the campaign, and expect a tough test for an ever-improving Rossoneri.
The 51-year-old brings a wealth of experience from equally fiery encounters witnessed between Lazio and Roma, and will expect his senior players to manage the match better than their Milan juniors.
While Milanisti will head to the San Siro on Sunday night expecting to be savouring the current gap between the two sides in Serie A, it could prove a far more compelling contest than they think.