My tip would be to get yourself to Busto Arsizio. From there, there are regular nonstop trains to Malpensa. I just looked now (example below) and the suggested routing avoids going into Milan (changing in Rho-Fiera), takes 1h55 and costs €13.15. From Busto Arsizio there are regular trains and a ticket (must be bought separately) costs €4 last time I looked. I find those regional trains surprisingly dependable.




The two screenshots above are taken from the Trenitalia website. You can easily set it to the English language version.