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The 21st matchday of Serie A is on the cards for AC Milan, taking on Lecce at home after two consecutive away games. As Massimiliano Allegri has made clear, it’s a game the Rossoneri absolutely have to win.
It’s been a good few days for the Milan faithfuls, following the comeback win against Como, and it will be very important for the team to build on the confidence boost. Not just to remain in the Scudetto race, but also to prove themselves to others.
In his pre-match press conference, Allegri was very clear about the fact that Milan need to win a game at home, for once. Especially since quite a lot of away games are coming up after this one; some difficult ones too it should be added.
Game date: Sunday, January 18
Kick-off time: 20:45 (CET)
Venue: San Siro
Referee: Luca Zufferli (VAR: Luigi Nasca)
Team news
The injury situation has seen a slight development since the game against Como on Thursday. Santiago Gimenez is still recovering from his ankle injury and will remain out for some time, but Strahinja Pavlovic has been called up.
Allegri said during the presser that the Serbian couldn’t even head the ball on Thursday, due to the risk of the stitches opening up, but he has been included on the bench. Anyway, Milan can’t exactly complain about the injury situation.
On the other hand, it’s clear that the tight schedule has drained the players quite a lot. Rafael Leao still hasn’t recovered 100% match fitness, while Luka Modric might need some rest again after a demanding performance against Como.
There are more players that will need to be assessed, as Allegri confirmed, and the physical condition will largely dictate the starting eleven picks. That said, the gaffer already seems to have a pretty good idea of which players will get the chance.
The backline should be made up of Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia and Koni De Winter, which doesn’t exactly come as a surprise given Pavlovic’s absence. De Winter has also done quite well in recent games, so there isn’t the same urgency to get the Serbian back.
In midfield, the only changes should be Ruben Loftus-Cheek for Youssouf Fofana and Samuele Ricci for Luka Modric. It seems a final decision hasn’t been made on the Croatian veteran, but Ricci is the favourite to replace him if he does need some rest.
Finally, Christian Pulisic remained on the bench for the entire Como game and will thus be back from start tomorrow. It seems his partner will be Leao despite not being in great shape, but both Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Füllkrug will be knocking on the door for a cameo.
All things considered, also looking at the bench, Allegri is heading into the game with a strong squad that definitely should be able to beat Lecce. The Rossoneri haven’t exactly been great at San Siro lately, though, so let’s wait and see what happens.
Predicted Milan XI (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, De Winter; Saelemaekers, Loftus-Cheek, Ricci, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leao.
Predicted Milan bench: Terracciano, Pittarella, Athekame, Odogu, Pavlovic, Estupinan, Fofana, Jashari, Modric, Nkunku, Füllkrug.
Injuries & suspensions: Gimenez.
The opponents
Because of the above, most Milan fans will have a pretty good base knowledge of the Via del Mare side by now. Just to refresh our memories, however, Eusebio Di Francesco is still the coach of the team and the results up until this point have been mixed.
One of the big summer signings, Nikola Stulic, has been unable to fill the boots of his namesake Nikola Krstovic, who left for Atalanta. The Serbian has scored just twice in 19 appearances and it’s one explanation as to why Lecce only have 13 goals so far (lowest in the league!).
With that goal production, you are always going to struggle for points and that has been the case for Lecce. On the other hand, Di Francesco’s men have been able to win by the odd goal four times, three of which were 1-0 wins. Very important points, making up a majority of the 17 claimed so far.
The recent 1-1 draw against Juventus was certainly a confidence boost for the team, and it also acts as a warning to teams like Milan. The Bianconeri made one mistake on the edge of the box and Lameck Banda, one of the stars, found the back of the net with a great strike.
There are some heavy absences to note, though. Gaspar, who is considered their best defender by many, was sent off against Parma for kicking an opponent who was lying down. He was handed a three-game ban for that and the timing couldn’t have been any worse (Inter, Milan and Lazio).
The starting right-back Danilo Veiga picked up a yellow card against Inter and will thus serve a one-game suspension on Sunday, meaning Matias Perez (who has only played 32 minutes) should get the chance against Milan’s left flank.
Adding the injury of Medon Berisha to the equation, things certainly could have been better for Di Francesco. The Milan loanee Francesco Camarda also looks set to cut his loan short and return to Milanello, per reports.
Predicted Lecce XI (4-2-3-1): Falcone; Perez, Siebert, Tiago Gabriel, Gallo; Ramadani, Coulibaly, Morente, Gandelman, Banda; Stulic.
Predicted Lecce bench: Fruchtl, Samooja, Kouassi, Jean, Ndaba, Fofana, Helgason, Kaba, Ngom, Maleh, Sala, Marchwinski, Ndri, Pierotti, Sottil.
Injuries & suspensions: Berisha, Camarda, Gaspar and Veiga.
Head to head
There have been 47 meetings between these sides, with Milan winning 30 as opposed to Lecce’s 2 wins. Adding the remaining 15 draws to the mix, it’s clear that the Rossoneri are the favourites in this one, especially if you consider the previous encounters this season.
Indeed, this will actually be the third edition of this fixture, seeing as they also faced each other in the Coppa Italia preliminaries. The league game was played before that, though, as Milan travelled to via del Mare at the end of August.
Goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic secured a 2-0 win for the Rossoneri. This was followed up by a convincing 3-0 win in the Coppa encounter, with Santiago Gimenez, Christopher Nkunku and Pulisic finding the back of the net.
Key facts and stats
➤ AC Milan have won their last four Serie A matches against Lecce, after failing to win three of the previous five (D3); the last time the Rossoneri recorded five consecutive victories against them in the competition was between 1989 and 1993.
➤ US Lecce have won just one of their last 28 Serie A matches against AC Milan (D11 L16), a 1-0 victory on 1st April 2006, with Axel Konan scoring the winning goal.
➤ AC Milan have won 15 of their 19 home Serie A matches against Lecce (79% – D3 L1); among teams faced at home at least that many times in the competition, only against Palermo have the Rossoneri recorded a higher win percentage (83%).
➤ AC Milan (W12 D7) are unbeaten in 19 consecutive Serie A matches within the same league season for the first time since January-May 2004, under Carlo Ancelotti (19-W15 D4). The Rossoneri have not reached 20 consecutive unbeaten matches in the same competition since the first seven months of the 1992-93 season (the first 23 matches without defeat under Fabio Capello).
➤ AC Milan have drawn four of their last five Serie A matches (W1) against teams starting the day in the bottom five of the league table, having won their previous six games against such opponents.
➤ US Lecce have lost their last three Serie A matches against Roma, Parma and Inter. The Salentini last recorded a longer losing run in the league (five matches) in February-March 2025 during Marco Giampaolo’s tenure.
➤ Before Lecce, the last team to play two consecutive away matches against Inter and Milan within a maximum of four days in Serie A was Atalanta between 25th and 28th February 2024 (a 1-1 draw against AC Milan and a 4-0 loss against Inter).
➤ AC Milan completed another comeback against Como last time out, recovering to win after falling behind which means that they have now gained 13 points from losing positions in Serie A this season, a league-high. Meanwhile, Lecce have dropped 10 points from winning positions, the same as Hellas Verona, and fewer only than Fiorentina, Genoa, and Pisa.
➤ Adrien Rabiot, who scored a decisive brace against Como, has never managed to score in two consecutive Serie A matches in his career. His longest scoring streak in Europe’s top five leagues was three matches in February 2025 with Marseille. The Frenchman is one of only three midfielders in the current Serie A season with at least three goals and three assists (alongside Nico Paz and Scott McTominay).
➤ Wladimiro Falcone is the only player not to have missed a single minute in Serie A since the 2022-23 season (since joining Lecce); the Lecce goalkeeper has played 134 matches out of a possible 134 league matchdays in that period.
Ones to watch
With Pulisic back in the eleven, he will surely be eager to redeem himself after the misses against Fiorentina. We all know just how good he can be, and he has already scored two goals against Lecce this season. Another would be nice to boost his confidence.
De Winter is another one who could use a good performance, simply to confirm the positive trend we have seen in the last few games. Perhaps all he needed was consistency, but tomorrow’s game will be an important litmus test in that sense.
Di Francesco hinted in his pre-match interview that nothing has been decided yet, but it looks like the 20-year-old Perez will replace their usual right-back Veiga. He has only played 32 minutes, as mentioned earlier, so it will be interesting to see how he will handle Leao and Pulisic.
It’s an easy pick, but one player who has offered the x-factor for Lecce this season is Banda. The goal against Juventus was brilliant and he has also had some good performances against Milan in the past. The defenders just need to keep a close eye on him, that’s all.
Prediction
After winning both of the previous games against Lecce this season, and now with a more or less full squad, I can’t see any other outcome than a win. Di Francesco’s men have struggled lately, despite the okay performance against Inter, and Allegri should be able to make the most of that.
That said, it might not be the easiest of games, especially since Milan have had some issues themselves with playing at San Siro lately.
Milan 2-0 Lecce
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