Serie A Preview: AC Milan vs. Lecce – Team news, opposition insight, stats and prediction
AC Milan are back under the lights of San Siro hoping to put right the wrongs of midweek as they welcome Lecce for the final game before the break.
Things did not go to plan for Milan in their Europa League opener, and the first defeat has led to the first signs of trouble, at least if the media are to be believed. However, they have a chance to ensure it is not a three-week international break that is riddled with further negative press.
In his pre-match press conference, the head coach Ruben Amorim admitted that his team needed to improve after a disappointing defeat in midweek. He also discussed his starting XI and the difficulties he faces with selections in a jam-packed calendar.
Game date: Sunday, September 20 Kick-off time: 20:45 (CEST) Venue: San Siro Referee: Federico La Penna (VAR: Maggioni)
Team news
As mentioned, the first loss of the season against Benfica on Wednesday night appears to have shifted the perspective to being quite a pessimistic one, at least among sections of the media.
Admittedly, some of his comments in the media have raised eyebrows as he seemed to contradict himself regarding the state of his squad, while also implying he might not get the time he needed to ‘help’ Milan.
In addition to that, there has been talk that owner Gerry Cardinale has landed back in Italy for talks with the head coach about what didn’t go to plan in the last few games. Matteo Moretto even spoke about a relationship between Amorim and some key players that is ‘not idyllic’.
However, the focus has to be going into the break with a win to quieten the noise. The good news is that there are no selection worries for the manager to contend with, as everyone is available and nobody is carrying any injuries.
There have been some lessons in terms of selection for Amorim to learn from, such as the fact he doesn’t seem to have picked the right starting line-up even once. Not only that, but Marco Silva made nine changes in midweek and yet his Benfica side still strolled to a 2-0 win, so effective rotation is no distant mirage.
The demands for a ‘true’ starting XI appear to have been heard by the Portuguese and so Amorim will field a full-strength Milan team this weekend. Mike Maignan will start in goal, with Mario Gila, Koni De Winter and Strahinja Pavlovic.
It may finally be the time to see an ideal midfield – at least in the fans’ eyes – with Samuel Chukwueze expected to retain his spot on the right, whilst Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot are set to start in midfield. On the left, Diego Moreira will get his start.
Leading the line, Christian Pulisic will start alongside Alphadjo Cisse behind Goncalo Ramos, who needs to start scoring. It certainly looks like a familiar XI.
Predicted Milan XI (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Gila, De Winter, Pavlovic; Chukwueze, Modric, Rabiot, Moreira; Pulisic, Cisse; Ramos.
Predicted bench: P. Terracciano, Torriani, F. Terracciano, Tomori, Gabbia, Diawara, Bartesaghi, Estupinan, Jashari, Loftus-Cheek, Musah, Comotto, Saelemaekers, Hutchinson, Camarda
Injuries & suspensions: None.
The opponents
The fact that this is even being previewed as a Serie A fixture is somewhat of a surprise, given that Lecce found themselves staring down the barrel of relegation with a few games to go last season.
Nonetheless, they chose to stick with Eusebio Di Francesco and the faith was rewarded. He delivered a couple of useful draws before winning three of the final four games from rounds 35-38 to obtain survival by four points.
The most dramatic of these was a 96th-mintue Stulic winner away from home against Sassuolo in the penultimate game, which meant the 1-0 win over Genoa in the season finale saw them over the line with relative comfort.
Going into the new season, the Giallorossi have not done a lot of transfer business. The three signings they paid for were striker Willem Geubbels (Paris FC, for €4.6m), winger Joel Monteiro (Young Boys, €2.5m) and winger Amar Fatah (Troyes, €150k).
They signed full-back Ali Dembele from Torino on loan, while they also got midfielder Ivan Ilic from the same club for the season. Marco Bleve joined from Carrarese on a free transfer too.
The positive is that they were able to keep a lot of their big names, above all Tiago Gabriel who renewed on Thursday. The only sales with Giacomo Fiacinti, Ylber Ramadani and Christian Fruchtl, all for €1m each.
While many once again fancied them for the drop, the Salento club have begun their season quite well, winning two of their first four games in the league, after a disappointing Coppa Italia exit to Serie B side Palermo (2-0) in mid-August.
Lecce won 2-0 away from home against newly-promoted Venezia in round one, in what was very much a smash-and-grab. They lost 4-0 at home to Roma then 1-0 at Cagliari, but returned home to the Stadio Via del Mare and beat Monza 3-2 in a thriller. Lassano Coulibaly got a brace in that game.
There are three injury issues for Di Francesco to contend with. Midfielder Medon Berisha will miss out, as will Omri Gandelman. Geubbels is a doubt and might end up being a game-day decision.
After their difficult win against Monza, Di Francesco isn’t considering making any changes it seems. So, Falcone will sit behind a back four of Veiga, Siebert, Gabriel and Gallo. Coulibaly, Ilic and Maleh will make up the front three.
Leading the line will be Stulic with N’Dri and Monteiro both keeping their places.
Predicted Lecce XI (4-3-3): Falcone; Veiga, Siebert, Gabriel, Gallo; Coulibaly, Ilic, Ngom; Pierotti, Stulic, Monteiro
Predicted bench: Bleve, Borbei, Dembelé, Gaspar, Jean, Scott, Ndaba, Fofana, Gorter, Kaba, Maleh, N’Dri, Esteban, Fatah
Injuries & suspensions: Berisha, Gandelman, Geubbels (?).
Head to head
There have been 48 meetings between the two teams, with Milan winning 31 times and Lecce only twice, plus 15 draws. The Rossoneri have quite a one-sided record in their favour therefore, but the past means nothing.
Last season, Milan travelled to via del Mare at the end of August. Goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic secured a much-needed 2-0 win for the Rossoneri after they had lost their opener 2-1 at home to Cremonese.
The home game was hard work, and it took a 76th-minute winner from January signing Niklas Füllkrug to finally break the resistance of the Giallorossi and secure a 1-0 victory for Massimiliano Allegri’s men.
Key stats and facts
➤ Milan have won their last five Serie A matches against Lecce – by an aggregate score of 12-2, keeping four clean sheets – and could win six consecutive matches against the Apulian side for the first time in the competition.
➤ Among the teams in this championship, Lecce is the one against which Milan boasts the longest unbeaten streak in Serie A: 16 matches, including 11 wins and five draws; the last defeat dates back to 1 April 2006, at the Via del Mare, with a goal by Axel Konan (1-0).
➤ Since the early 2000s, Milan have never lost at home to Lecce in Serie A, thanks to 12 wins and two draws, with the Rossoneri scoring 30 more goals than the Apulian side (38-8); in particular, the Rossoneri are on a run of four consecutive home wins against the Salento side with an aggregate score of 9-0.
➤ Milan are coming off two consecutive draws (against Juventus and Lazio) and haven’t drawn three games in a row since September 2018, under Gennaro Gattuso; the Rossoneri won their last home game (against Venezia) and have only won two home games in a row in Serie A once this calendar year, last March, against Inter and Torino.
➤ Lecce have won four of their last six Serie A games (D2), scoring nine goals in total (an average of 1.5 per match), which is the same number of goals scored in double the number of previous league games (12).
➤ All of Milan’s goals (seven) this season have come in the final half hour of play, the period in which they have scored the most; by contrast, the Rossoneri have scored only one goal in the first half of their last nine Serie A matches.
➤ Lecce have conceded five of their seven goals in the first half hour of play this season, a league-high; overall, only Monza (seven) have conceded more goals than the Giallorossi in the first half of this Serie A season (five, the same as Genoa).
➤ In his last three appearances in Ligue 1 and Serie A, Diego Moreira has been involved in five goals, three goals and two assists; the 2004-born player, who before his brace as a substitute against Lazio had never scored from the bench in his previous 68 appearances in Europe’s Big 10 leagues, could score in two consecutive appearances in these tournaments for the first time in his career.
➤ Lecce are Christian Pulisic’s favorite target in Serie A, having scored five goals in five games (including a brace on March 8, 2025); the American – who hasn’t started since April 26 – could be involved in at least one goal in two consecutive Serie A appearances after his assist on the final matchday for the first time this calendar year (his last appearance was last December).
➤ Thanks to Lassana Coulibaly (2G+1A) and Ivan Ilic (2A), Lecce have two midfielders with more than one active participation in this championship, with only Inter having more (four); in particular, the Malian player (fresh from a brace on the final matchday) would equal his scoring record in a single season in the competition (three, in 2022/23 and 2025/26) with one goal.
Ones to watch
Diego Moreira has impressed off the bench from the left on two occasions, but starting there will be a completely different test. The Belgian needs to show that he can be a starter for Milan and the task shouldn’t be so difficult after the week that Pervis Estupinan and Davide Bartesaghi had.
Christian Pulisic will also have a lot of attention on him, the American is still searching for a first goal and to help the Rossoneri enter the break positively would be a good thing for all parties.
Tiago Gabriel’s performance will be of interest, of course, given the regular links to him over the summer. A good showing from the Portuguese could bring up more conversations about the future.
Lassana Coulibaly cannot be ignored, too. He’s been the star of this Lecce side so far and if not dealt with, he will punish the Diavolo. After a brace last time out, he’ll be full of confidence, which could be dangerous.
Prediction
With Cardinale back in attendance, this feels like a game where Amorim can send a message to everyone; one that he’s the right man for the job. Lecce won’t be pushovers, of course, but their form isn’t exactly inspiring.
AC Milan 2-0 Lecce
