In reality, both Milky Way & Andromeda are moving towards each other because of the gravitational attraction between both the galaxies.
Speaking in cosmic terms, they are so close to each other that no other force can push them otherwise. this collision is inevitable.
To give you an idea about how close they are, imagine this
The width of Milky Way is : Over 100,000 Light Years across.
The width of Andromeda is : Over 200,000 Light Years across.
And the distance between both the galaxies is 12 times the width of Andromeda. So for Andromeda, just 12 steps away.
Look at this below image, this will give you a rough idea of their orientations and the distance between them.
In space, when things this big are this close, collision happen.
However, there is one good news. Although we call the merger of both the galaxies a collision, but there is hardly anything that is going to collide. All the stars in both galaxies are so far away that both galaxies are expected to cross through one another multiple number of times without any major collision, like shown below.
But yes, some day, their Nucleus (i.e. Super Massive Black Holes) will combine.
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