Serie A preview: Lazio vs. AC Milan – Team news, opposition insight, stats and prediction
AC Milan will look to build on a solid start to the campaign on Saturday evening when they take on Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
Milan have taken seven points from nine to begin the campaign, beating Torino away and Venezia at home before dropping points for the first time last weekend, drawing 1-1 against Juventus in Turin. It was close to being three wins from three, but for a last-gasp equaliser.
In his pre-match press conference, head coach Ruben Amorim said
Game date: Saturday, September 12 Kick-off time: 18:00 (CEST) Venue: Stadio Olimpico Referee: Matteo Marcenaro (VAR: Meraviglia)
Team news
As mentioned, Milan have had a relatively positive beginning to the campaign, at least considering the fact they lost to Cremonese to begin 2025-26 and it was all about recovering from there. The Juve result was dropped points for the first time, but a draw at the Allianz Stadium is not a disaster.
In fact, it could have been even more after Alphadjo Cisse’s opener midway through the second half, just minutes after coming on. As Amorim himself admitted it might have been an undeserved win had his side held out which they did not, with Federico Gatti equalising in the 92nd minute.
The schedule has given the Rossoneri a third away game in four to begin 2026-27, and a second tough one in a row. Meanwhile, there will be an eye on the fact the first midweek commitment of the season is coming up: Benfica visit San Siro in the Europa League next Wednesday.
There are two bits of good news that came from Milanello during preparations. Firstly, Mario Gila – who came off with knee discomfort in the Juventus game – trained regularly and is fine to face his former club.
Secondly, Matteo Gabbia has shaken off his lingering ankle issue and is expected to be available too, having rejoined full training on Thursday. With those two positive updates, the Diavolo have a clean bill of health.
At the time of writing, Amorim is expected to make tweaks and not big changes to the starting line-up. Mike Maignan will keep his place in goal as the captain, with Gila, Koni De Winter and Strahinja Pavlovic the three-man defence ahead of him.
Samuel Chukwueze and Pervis Estupinan are tipped to occupy the flanks as the right and left wing-backs respectively. They will be either side of the same midfield double pivot that starting last weekend: Yunus Musah and Luka Modric, who turned 41 on Tuesday.
In attack, the one change is expected to be Alphadjo Cisse coming back in as the left-sided attacking midfielder after his second goal of the campaign. Adrien Rabiot should be on the right, with Goncalo Ramos leading the line, who has played all 270 minutes so far.
Predicted Milan XI (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Gila, De Winter, Pavlovic; Chukwueze, Modric, Musah, Estupinan; Rabiot, Cisse; Ramos.
Predicted bench: P. Terracciano, Torriani, Diawara, Tomori, F. Terracciano, Bartesaghi, Moreira, Jashari, Comotto, Saelemaekers, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Hutchinson, Camarda.
Injuries & suspensions: None.
The opponents
It was a summer of change for Lazio once again, as they made Gennaro Gattuso their head coach following his departure from the Italy set-up. The appointment was met with a mixed reaction, amid an ongoing climate of protest from fans over Claudio Lotito’s ownership.
Then, the constraints placed upon them financially meant that it was always going to be a difficult summer. Boulaye Dia’s move from Salernitana was made permanent and was the only big expense at €11.3m.
Davide Frattesi joined on loan from Inter, Andrea Pinamonti signed from Sassuolo, Josip Sutalo was loaned in from Ajax, while Danilho Doehki and Alfonso Pedraza signed on frees.
Bruno Galassi arrived from Real Madrid’s youth system which they hope will be another Gila-esque coup. Alberto Gudmundsson (loan, Fiorentina) and Diogo Leite were two additions that came a bit later on.
In terms of exits, Gila was the big one as he went to Milan for €30m including bonuses, which is looking more and more like a steal in the current market. Alessio Romagnoli, Ivan Provedel and Gabriele Artistico left for small fees.
When Lazio were dumped out of the Coppa Italia by Serie B side Mantova to officially begin the season on August 16, Biancocelesti fans would be forgiven for thinking that it might be quite a testing campaign for them. And yet, they have roared back since.
Frattesi instantly endeared himself with two winners in the first two rounds against Bologna and Genoa (both 1-0), while he scored the equaliser against Udinese on Monday night before Gudmundsson’s late winner.
It means that the capital club are on nine points out of nine and are therefore joint-top, along with Inter and their city rivals Inter. Despite this, there is talk that there will be twice as many Milanisti as Laziali at the Olimpico, because the boycott shows no signs of stopping.
In terms of selection news, Gattuso will be without defensive duo Patric and Adam Marusic. The midfield pair of Nicolo Rovella and Danilo Cataldi are expected to miss out, while Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is a doubt too.
As mentioned, the signing of Leite on a free transfer (last at Union Berlin, and previously linked with Milan) adds a boost to the defensive department for the Biancocelesti.
In their last game, Lazio played Gattuso’s trademark 4-3-3 with Mandas in goal, Doehki and Provstgaard as the centre-backs, Floriani Mussolini and Taveres at full-back, Frattesi-Belahyane-Taylor as the midfield trio, then Isaksen-Pinamonti-Zaccagni as the front three.
Predicted Lazio XI (4-3-3): Mandas; F. Mussolini, Doekhi, Provstgaard, Tavares; Frattesi, Belahyane, Taylor; Isaksen, Pinamonti, Zaccagni.
Predicted bench:
Injuries & suspensions:
Head to head
Saturday’s game marks the 196th clash between Milan and Lazio, with the Rossoneri hoping to build on their head-to-head advantage. Currently the record reads 87 wins to the Biancocelesti’s 43, with the remaining 65 games ending in draws.
However, this is a fixture that was not kind to Milan last season. The teams faced off in the Coppa Italia back in December, and in that one a late goal from Mattia Zaccagni was enough for the hosts to progress.
In the reverse fixture in the league, on the other hand, it was Milan that prevailed 1-0 thanks to Rafael Leao’s tap-in. When they met in the league again in March, Gustav Isaksen got the only goal as the Aquile triumphed, denting the Scudetto push a week after the derby win over Inter.
The Diavolo’s last victory against Lazio at the Olimpico dates back to 2023-24, when Noah Okafor fired in at the second attempt inside the final few minutes to send the huge travelling support home happy.
Key stats and facts
➤ Lazio have won two of their last three Serie A games against Milan (L1), as many as they had in their previous 10 (D1 L7); furthermore, the Biancocelesti have not won two consecutive league games against the Rossoneri since 2012.
➤ Lazio have lost 73 of their 166 Serie A matches against Milan (W33, D60). Only against Juventus (87) have they suffered more defeats in the top flight. Furthermore, Lazio have drawn 60 matches against Milan in the tournament (the same as against Torino), a number second only to their draws against Roma (62).
➤ Since 2012, Lazio have won seven of their 15 Serie A home games against Milan (D4, L4). During this period, Milan have lost more away league games only against Inter (eight) and Juventus (nine), while they have also lost seven against Napoli.
➤ Lazio have won their first three Serie A matches this season; previously, the Biancocelesti had only managed that feat in the 1974-75 season (drawing the fourth) and the 2012-13 season (losing the fourth).
➤ Lazio won their first home game this season; in the previous 10 Serie A seasons, the Biancocelesti have managed to win both of their first two home games only once, in 2022-23.
➤ Milan have lost at least one of their first four Serie A games in each of the previous three seasons (between 2023-24 and 2025-26), after having remained unbeaten in their first four games in each of the three previous seasons (between 2020-21 and 2022-23).
➤ Rúben Amorim could become the first coach to win three of his first four games in charge of AC Milan in Serie A since Fatih Terim in 2001; overall, the Portuguese could become the 12th coach in the club’s history to achieve at least three wins in his first four matches in the top flight.
➤ Gennaro Gattuso both played for and coached AC Milan, making 335 Serie A appearances as a player between 1999 and 2012 (more than any other Rossoneri player in the period) and leading the team as coach in 62 league matches between 2017 and 2019, winning exactly half of them (W31, D19, L12).
➤ Davide Frattesi has scored three goals in his first three Serie A appearances for Lazio; before him, only Mauro Zárate, Giuseppe Signori, and Silvio Piola had found the net in their first three top-flight games for the club, but none of them found the net in their fourth.
➤ After his goals against Torino and Juventus, Alphadjo Cisse could become only the third player to score in each of his first three away games for AC Milan in Serie A in the three points for a win era (since 1994-95), after Maurizio Ganz (between January and February 1998) and Krzysztof Piatek (between February and March 2019).
Ones to watch
For the hosts, Frattesi sticks out like a sore thumb as a player to watch. The Inter loanee has started well in Rome, scoring three goals in three games and if Lazio overpower the Rossoneri in midfield, he may be a huge danger.
Then, Pinamonti’s performance will also be of intrigue. Through the week, it had been suggested that the striker could miss the game with a knock. However, he seems to have pulled through. He can be a threat, but it’ll be a case of seeing if he’s playing with that knock still bothering him.
For the Diavolo, we have to start with Christian Pulisic, especially after Amorim’s words in his press conference. The American will play at some point, so regardless of whether he’s seen in the first or 50th minute, his performance will be the most interesting to Milan fans.
Another one to watch will be Pervis Estupinan. The Ecuadorian is potentially at risk of losing his wing-back spot to a newcomer, with Moreira reportedly working as a left wing-back in training. This, again, feels like a last chance situation.
Prediction
After the draw against Juventus, Amorim certainly wasn’t best pleased with his team’s performance. So, a marked improvement in a more forgiving atmosphere this weekend isn’t to be ruled out, at all. With the greatest respect to Lazio, too, the game should play more in the Rossoneri’s favour this weekend.
Lazio 0-2 AC Milan
