Fresh from their scintillating Champions League victory over Real Madrid, the European champions, AC Milan return to Serie A action on Saturday when they travel to Sardinia to take on Cagliari. Milan’s midweek win has left them sky-high, but domestically, they remain with much to catch up on. Cagliari is in the middle of a bad phase, having lost three successive matches in the league, and this fixture assumes significance for both their seasons.
Match Preview
AC Milan came out on top with a surprise 3-1 victory at Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, important not just to reignite their Champions League ambitions but also to see an end to the Spanish giant’s 15-match unbeaten run in Europe. Malick Thiaw, Alvaro Morata, and Tijjani Reijnders wrapped up the win, as Rafael Leao had a big role to play in Milan’s attacking explosion. Coach Paulo Fonseca looks to bring that momentum into Serie A, coming into Milan’s upcoming international break.
Milan stand seventh at home with 17 points, eight from Napoli atop the table. A recent 1-0 win at Monza highlit their resolute backline, their fourth clean sheet from seven road contests. Now, Milan want to preserve this solidity while trying to score in a 14th successive league trip to Sardinia.
While that represents a modest return for Cagliari in recent games. Having won just once in their last 39 Serie A meetings with Milan, the Rossoblu are on a run of three straight defeats after losing 2-1 to Lazio last weekend. They now find themselves among seven teams split by a single point from the relegation zone, and a lack of scoring firepower on home turf is not helping the situation.
Form Guide:
Cagliari Serie A Form: WDWLLL
AC Milan Serie A Form: WWLWLW
AC Milan (All Competitions): LWWLWW
Team News and Predicted Lineups:
AC Milan can expect a few changes from the squad that played Real Madrid. Rafael Leao and Yunus Musah starred midweek, but with Samu Chukwueze fit, Fonseca may rotate to keep things fresh in the lineup. Long-term absentees Ismael Bennacer and Alessandro Florenzi remain sidelined, but Matteo Gabbia could be available again. While, with Christian Pulisic averaging a goal every other game, the young American will most probably be given the responsibility to support Morata in attack, adding more threat to Milan’s offense.
Zito Luvumbo netted his first league goal against Milan last season for Cagliari and scored recently against Lazio, so the forward might hold onto a starting spot. However, Cagliari are without both Yerry Mina and Michel Adopo, suspended, and could bring in Jose Luis Palomino and Razvan Marin into the starting lineup.
Predicted Lineups:
Cagliari: Scuffet; Zappa, Palomino, Luperto, Augello; Marin, Makoumbou; Zortea, Gaetano, Luvumbo; Piccoli
AC Milan: Maignan; Emerson, Tomori, Pavlovic, Hernandez; Reijnders, Fofana; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Morata
Forecast: AC Milan 2-0 Cagliari AC Milan is in high spirits after the win in Europe added to a good defensive run. The poor form at home for Cagliari and their blunt attack mean Milan will take advantage of the lapses to record a comfortable away win and increase Cagliari’s winless run against them.
