AC Milan will be eager to build on the Supercoppa Italiana triumph and start a resurgent run in Serie A when they host Cagliari at San Siro on Saturday.
The 2024/25 Serie A season resumes this week with Matchday 20 as the second half of the league campaign gets underway. Saturday will feature four games, with the action on the day ending with AC Milan vs Cagliari at San Siro.
Sergio Conceicao could not have asked for a better initiation as the AC Milan manager. With the Rossoneri sacking Paulo Fonseca, the Portuguese tactician took over as the new head coach and guided the team to a triumphant Supercoppa Italiana campaign. The final was a pulsating affair that saw AC Milan come from two goals down to beat Inter Milan 3-2 with an injury-time goal by Tammy Abraham.
However, Conceicao will be eager to get his team’s Serie A campaign back on track, with AC Milan eighth in the standings. However, with the Rossoneri having two games in hand, they might feel they are in the thick of the top-four race if they win those matches.
On the other hand, Cagliari will hope for a turnaround in fortunes after coming from a goal down to beat AC Monza 2-1 last weekend. That result ended a five-match losing run, although despite the three points, the Islanders are level on points with 18th-placed US Lecce.
The reverse fixture saw Cagliari twice come from a goal down to hold AC Milan to a 3-3 draw, with Gabriele Zappa scoring the late equaliser. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
AC Milan
Sergio Conceicao has a new roster issue hampering his preparations ahead of his first Serie A match. The AC Milan manager will be bereft of the services of four first-team players vs Cagliari on Saturday.
Emerson Royal is the latest absentee, with the summer arrival serving a suspension this weekend. The Brazilian international has joined Alessandro Florenzi (knee), Samuel Chukwueze (muscle injury), and Noah Okafor (knock) on the sidelines.
Mike Maignan is an automatic pick between the sticks, with AC Milan lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Cagliari on Saturday. The backline should feature Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw, and Theo Hernandez.
As for the midfield unit, Youssouf Fofana should pair up with Yunus Musah in the double pivot. Tijjani Reijnders will reprise the no. 10 role, with Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao being the two wide attackers. Finally, Alvaro Morata should lead the line for AC Milan against Cagliari this weekend.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Morata
Cagliari
Like his counterpart in the AC Milan dugout, Davide Nicola has a new concern to worry about ahead of the trip to San Siro. The Cagliari manager might be without two first-team players on Saturday.
Zito Luvumbo is recovering from an ankle injury, although he is closing in on returning to action. In addition, Yerry Mina is struggling with a similar issue, although he has trained this week and might be ready to take on AC Milan.
Elia Caprile will take his spot between the sticks, with Cagliari lining up in a 4-4-1-1 formation in front of him vs AC Milan on Saturday. The backline should feature Gabriele Zappa, Yerry Mina, Sebastiano Luperto, and Adam Obert.
As for the midfield unit, Antoine Makoumbou and Michel Ndary Adopo should pair up in the central areas, aiming to keep things tight in the middle of the park. Nadir Zortea and Tommaso Augello will provide width in the final third, with Nicolas Viola reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Roberto Piccoli will spearhead the Cagliari attack on Saturday, hoping to break his duck against AC Milan.
Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Caprile; Zappa, Mina, Luperto, Obert; Zortea, Adopo, Makoumbou, Augello; Viola; Piccoli
Key Stats
- AC Milan are unbeaten in their last 13 Serie A games vs Cagliari (W10 D3).
- Cagliari have not won two successive matches in Serie A since March 2024. The two most recent occasions they won a game saw the Isolani lose the subsequent fixture.
- AC Milan have drawn three of their four most recent home games in Serie A, including the last two outings. They have not played out three successive stalemates in Serie A since January 2020.
- Sergio Conceicao has won his first two matches as the AC Milan manager. Arrigo Sacchi, in August 1987, was the last AC Milan boss to win his opening three outings in charge of the Rossoneri.
- Roberto Piccoli has scored 18 goals in Serie A, with those coming against 18 different teams. However, he has never scored against AC Milan in the competition (7 appearances – 387 minutes). Only against Lazio (418) has he played more minutes in Serie A without finding the back of the net.
Player to Watch
Rafael Leao
Christian Pulisic and Roberto Piccoli were viable candidates for this section, but we have picked Rafael Leao as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Serie A game. The Portuguese international has not been at his best this season, with his struggles playing a part in AC Milan’s inconsistencies.
However, the 25-year-old faces a team he has excelled against (5 goals). Leao has scored in his last two home league games against the Isolani, and he will be eager to continue that exceptional run this weekend.
Prediction
AC Milan 3-1 Cagliari
Despite the two wins in the triumphant Supercoppa Italiana campaign, AC Milan showed some deficiencies, which Cagliari can take advantage of this weekend. However, the visitors have been dreadful for the most part in recent weeks, struggling for points in Serie A.
Meanwhile, the two Supercoppa Italiana matches saw AC Milan unlock a scoring potential they did not show under Paulo Fonseca. Some more of the same will result in a much-needed win in Serie A, with The Hard Tackle predicting a 3-1 victory for Sergio Conceicao and his charges.