Overview
On the opening day of Serie A, only Juventus had more shots than AC Milan (24), but the Rossoneri surprisingly lost everything at San Siro.
Cremonese only needed 3 shots on target to score 2 goals, including a masterpiece by Federico Bonazzoli. On the other hand, Strahinja Pavlovic's strong header was a rare bright spot from Milan's unsuccessful attack.
Last season, AC Milan also did not win in the opening 2 rounds. Max Allegri certainly wants to avoid repeating that scenario as he is expected to help Milan revive strongly.
In the midst of a busy summer in the transfer market, Milan have overcome Bari in Coppa Italia, but the real goal is still to squeeze into the top 4 of Serie A. With 3 consecutive wins and 14 unbeaten matches against Lecce, there is only one accepted result at via del Mare: a victory.
In the most recent encounter in March, Christian Pulisic's double helped Milan win 3-2 away. At that time, Nikola Krstovic scored for Lecce and often played the role of a hero in their escape journey in Serie A.
However, the Montenegro striker moved to Atalanta, forcing coach Eusebio Di Francesco to put his faith in young talent Francesco Camarda. The player played in the 0-0 draw with Genoa last weekend.
Having lost his main striker, Lecce still started the season quite smoothly under the leadership of Di Francesco, who returned to the coaching bench in his second term.
After two consecutive relegations with Frosinone and Venezia, this strategist opened a new era with a 2-1 victory over Juve Stabia in Coppa Italia. However, history shows that maintaining their unbeaten streak will be a big challenge for them.
Statistics show that Lecce have lost 8 and won only 1 of their 19 visits to Milan in Serie A. And that only win came nearly 20 years ago.
Personnel situation
Rafael Leao is unlikely to feature for Milan due to a calf injury he suffered right after his goal against Bari. Therefore, Max Allegri is likely to put his faith in the pair Santiago Gimenez and Christian Pulisic in attack.
Pulisic has been a chess player for Lecce, having scored four goals against the opponent in Serie A, including a double in his most recent away trip to via del Mare. In the context of the Rossoneri lack of a striker, the American star continues to be expected to shine.
In the transfer market, Milan failed to recruit Victor Boniface and has yet to complete the conceded conceding deal with conceded Harder.
In contrast, they have parted ways with a series of strikers such as Alvaro Morata, Luka Jovic, Noah Okafor and Tammy Abraham (returning after a loan deal), while Samuel Chukwueze is also at risk of leaving the team.
On the opposite side, Francesco Camarda - a 17-year-old player of Milan - is likely to continue to start for Lecce. The home side could welcome Santiago pierotti back from suspension, while they are only two long-term injuries missing, Gaby Jean and Filip Marchwinski.
Charleroi signing draft pick Nikola Stulic was on time, but the deal was too late for him to play against Milan.
Expected lineup:
Lecce: Falcone, Veiga, Gabriel, Gaspar, Gallo, Coulibaly, pierret, Berisha, pierotti, Camarda, Morente.
AC Milan: Maignan, Tomori, De Winter, Pavlovic, Saelemaekers, Loftus-Cheek, Modric, Fofana, Estupinan, Pulisic, Gimenez.
The match between Lecce and AC Milan takes place at 1:45 am on August 30 (Vietnam time).
