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AC Milan will play their first game of the year at San Siro on Thursday night, welcoming Genoa with both sides in need of points.
Milan ended 2025 and began 2026 in the best way possible with six points out of six from the games against Hellas Verona and Cagliari. Not only that, but they scored four and didn’t concede, which marked a return to the kind of solidity Massimiliano Allegri wants.
Speaking of the coach, he spoke in his pre-match press conference on the eve of the game. He gave an update on the fitness of various players, while also getting his calculator out for some revised targets on what is needed for the top four and the Scudetto.
Game date: Thursday, January 8
Kick-off time: 20:45 (CET)
Venue: San Siro
Referee: Mariani (VAR: Di Paolo)
Team news
As mentioned, the recent period has been much better for Milan. It is believed that Allegri’s words have played some part in that too, as La Gazzetta dello Sport reported during the week that the coach was hard but fair with the players after the Supercoppa defeat before Christmas.
The response has been good: the Rossoneri have got back to winning without conceding, albeit against two opponents they should beat on paper. Having potentially gotten over the small-team taboo, it is a case of a third time being the proof against Genoa.
A constant theme pretty much since the season began has been the question marks regarding various players in various departments. In Cagliari it was about the attack and if Strahinja Pavlovic would recover from flu, which he did not and it forced a re-shuffle.
There are still issues this week, too. Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic are finally destined to start together again for only the second time in the league (the other being the derby), though Allegri admitted they are each playing through discomfort.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek reported a minor issue on Tuesday and trained alone, but returned to full training and will be available. Christopher Nkunku however is still suffering from an ankle problem and he will sit out again.
The main news from La Gazzetta on the eve of the game is that Allegri has decided against rotating for this fixture, despite the fact another game against Fiorentina – away from home – follows just over 60 hours later in Florence.
The coach has seen his team bounce back from defeat in the Supercoppa with two solid performances, so he doesn’t want his team to lose their rhythm. Roma and Juventus won on Tuesday too, so there is added pressure to win.
With Allegri’s decision, then, the team for tomorrow effectively picks itself. Mike Maignan remains in goal, and only Fikayo Tomori will keep his place in the back three. Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic are both ready to return, so they will.
Davide Bartesaghi will move back to wing-back, whilst Alexis Saelemaekers will keep his place on the right. In the middle, staying the same is the name of the game; Luka Modric will sit at the base between Youssouf Fofana and Adrien Rabiot.
Due to Loftus-Cheek’s issue, we will see Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic combine for only their third Serie A start. Though this probably would have been the case regardless of the Englishman’s condition.
Predicted XI (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leao.
Predicted bench: Terracciano, Torriani, Athekame, De Winter, Odogu, Estupinan, Loftus-Cheek, Jashari, Ricci, Fullkrug.
Injuries & suspensions: Gimenez, Nkunku.
The opponents
Genoa’s summer window has in many ways probably sewn the seeds for what has been a difficult start to the season. After selling €52m worth of players, according to Transfermarkt, they did not spend a single penny on permanent transfers to bolster the squad available to the then-coach Patrick Vieira.
Koni De Winter was the most expensive sale as he went to Milan for €20m. Teenage defender Honest Ahanor headed to Atalanta for €17m, then Albert Gudmundsson completed his permanent Fiorentina switch for €13m.
The incomings were not particularly inspiring. A €500k loan fee was paid to get Jean Onana from Bestikas, while Valentin Carboni (Inter), Maxwell Cornet (West Ham) Lorenzo Colombo (Milan), Albert Gronbaek and Leo Ostigard (both Stade Rennais) also arrived on loan.
Genoa ended up sacking Vieira in early November due to a winless start to the Serie A season. He left them bottom of the table with De Rossi taking over as manager shortly after. A win over Sassuolo on November 3 got the ball rolling for the Roma icon.
Victories over Hellas Verona later in the month and Udinese early in December (both 2-1) saw them climb out of the bottom three. The Rossoblu haven’t won since that game on December 8, but have had a tough run of fixtures against the likes of Inter, Atalanta and Roma.
There is quite a long list of injury doubts for De Rossi to deal with. Siegrist, Messias, Gronbaek, Cornet and Ekuban are all down as ‘to be evaluated’ in view of the trip to Milan. Onana, meanwhile, will definitely be out due to his African Cup of Nations commitments.
It seems that it will be a game of very few changes for De Rossi, despite the Rossoblu’s underwhelming draw against Pisa at the weekend. Leali, then, will remain in goal, whilst Ostigard and Vasquez also keep their places. However, Marcandalli is expected to step in, in place of the imposing Otoa.
Things also remain almost the same in midfield, with Norton-Cuffy and Martin keeping their places on the wings. Malinovskyi and former Rossoneri target Morten Frendrup will stick in midfield, whilst Ellertsson is expected to return to the starting XI.
Leading the line, there are no changes expected. So, Vitinha will partner with Colombo, who will hope to perform against his old club once again.
Predicted Genoa XI (3-5-2): Leali; Marcandalli, Ostigard, Vasquez; Norton-Cuffy, Malinovskyi, Frendrup, Ellertsson, Martin; Vitinha, Colombo.
Predicted bench: Sommariva, Lysionok, Carboni, Fini, Stanciu, Masini, Venturino, Ekhator, Sabelli, Otoa, Cuenca, Thorsby.
Injuries & suspensions: Onana. Doubts: Siegrist, Messias, Gronbaek, Cornet, Ekuban.
Head to head
AC Milan and Genoa have faced off 136 times across all competitions over the past 126 years. Of these games, the Rossoneri have prevailed 62 times, with 45 draws and 29 defeats, which is a win rate of 45.6%.
Last season, Milan took four points from the Grifone. At San Siro in December the away side actually spoiled the 125th birthday celebrations by coming and getting a 0-0 draw.
Back at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Sergio Conceicao’s side fell behind to a Vitinha goal, before Leao equalised and Frendrup put one into his own net less than one minute later in an eventual 2-1 win.
Generally speaking, Milan’s record against Genoa at home is very good. The last defeat was in March 2020, an eerie 2-1 defeat just before lockdown. Prior to that, the last loss at San Siro was in 2015, but before that you have to go back to 1958.
Key facts and stats
➤ There have been 62 official meetings between the two teams at San Siro with a record of 39 Milan victories (latest 2-0 in Serie A 2021-22), 17 draws (latest 0-0 in Serie A 2024-25), and 6 Genoa victories (latest 2-1 in Serie A 2019-20).
➤ Milan are on 38 points in 17 matches: in case of victory against Genoa, it would be possible to improve on the Scudetto year’s result (2021-22), when the Rossoneri closed the first half at 42 points.
➤ Milan are the team that scores the most goals in Serie A 2025-26 in the first 15 minutes of the second half: 8 goals out of 28 total.
➤ Milan is the team that has spent the least time in a losing position: only 8.9% of minutes played.
➤ Genoa is the team that concedes the most goals in Serie A 2025-26 in the first 15 minutes of matches: 5 like Verona.
➤ Only Kenan Yildiz (77) has attempted more dribbles in Serie A than Alexis Saelemaekers (73).
Ones to watch
It, perhaps, is cheating to name two players in the first ‘one’ to watch. However, the strike partnership needs to prove it is one, so it counts here. Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic have impressed so far, but their minutes together are too small to get too far ahead of things. Tomorrow, if they continue their excellent record, people can begin to get excited.
Fikayo Tomori could also be one to watch, but not for the same reasons. Instead, it has been suggested that he was being considered for a rest, but he will start instead. He will have been deemed able enough to play here, so his performance must show the same.
For the visitors, Lorenzo Colombo could be one to watch. The Italian was quiet against the Rossoneri last season. However, he has previously caused some trouble at San Siro, and if not careful, it could happen again tomorrow.
Morten Frendrup’s performance will also be one to keep note of. He has been a target of the club for some time now, and whether this remains the case can be doubted. However, he could be decisive tomorrow if not respected.
Prediction
Since the Supercoppa Italiana, the two performances have been mixed. One case of getting the job done, and then another where Milan had some fun at the expense of their opposition. Ideally, the Rossoneri do both at San Siro on Thursday, and it is certainly possible.
AC Milan 2-0 Genoa
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