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AC Milan are starting the new year with a clash against Cagliari, hoping to build on the important win against Hellas Verona last time out.
The Scudetto race is shaping up to be something else this season and having collected 35 points in 16 games, Milan are definitely one of the candidates to lift the trophy. The win against Hellas Verona was very important to bounce back, but it wasn’t enough to snatch first place from Inter.
In his press conference, Massimiliano Allegri echoed that it’s very important for Milan to continue on the winning path, starting the year as well as possible. He also touched on some of the injuries, which we will discuss more below.
Game date: Sunday, January 2
Kick-off time: 20:45 (CET)
Venue: Unipol Domus
Referee: Rosario Abisso (VAR: Giacomo Camplone)
Team news
As alluded to, there have been many doubts regarding Milan’s squad for the game as several players are struggling with minor injuries. Allegri confirmed during his presser that Christopher Nkunku will miss out, as he’s still recovering from an ankle problem.
Strahinja Pavlovic is also a doubt due to a fever, even if he travelled with the team and may be good to go tomorrow. On the plus side, Christian Pulisic returned to group training and will at least be on the bench, but he could also start if everything is okay.
Niclas Füllkrug’s presence has been confirmed, despite the tight deadline for the necessary transfer documents, and Matteo Gabbia has also recovered enough to be on the bench. Rafael Leao is now 100% too, but since he hasn’t played for a while, it could be a case of starting on the sidelines.
In other words, a lot is up in the air for Milan and Allegri, with many decisions to make at the 11th hour tomorrow. The certainties in defence are Fikayo Tomori and Koni De Winter, with David Odogu and Davide Bartesaghi ready as options for the final spot if Pavlovic doesn’t make it.
The midfield will likely depend on the situation up front, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek appears poised to start but may have to do so in attack instead. That would leave the door open for Youssouf Fofana or Samuele Ricci to take the spot in midfield.
The fact that Bartesaghi could start at centre-back would also change things on the flank, with Pervis Estupinan potentially getting a chance to impress Allegri. In any case, based on the latest reports, we should be looking at Leao up front alongside the aforementioned Englishman.
It wouldn’t be the strongest eleven, but at least Allegri will have quite a few options off the bench. For example, Leao may not be in the best condition but he has recovered from the injury, and could make a difference for a shorter period of time.
Predicted XI (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, De Winter, Pavlovic/Bartesaghi; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi/Estupinan; Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic/Leao.
Predicted bench: Terracciano, Torriani, Athekame, Gabbia, Odogu, Pavlovic/Estupinan, Jashari, Ricci, Füllkrug, Leao/Pulisic.
Injuries & suspensions: Gimenez, Nkunku.
The opponents
Cagliari finished in 15th place last season, five points clear of safety, and thus opted to part ways with Davide Nicola (who then went on to join Cremonese). The 52-year-old was replaced by the club legend Fabio Pisacane, who received a well-deserved promotion from the Primavera team.
As a side note, Pisacane and Cagliari’s Primavera side actually beat Milan in the Coppa Italia final last season, putting three goals past the Rossoneri. It’s definitely one of the games that pushed the Cagliari management to bet on the former defender for the first team.
In any case, in addition to the managerial changes, there was also some movement on the transfer side of things. Important players such as Roberto Piccoli (top scorer last season with his 12 goals), Tommasso Augello, Nadir Zortea and Razvan Marin said goodbye to the club.
Andrea Belotti and Sebastiano Esposito were brought in to fill the gap up front, while Michael Folorunsho and Michel Adopo arrived for the midfield. The axis with Napoli was also strengthened as Elio Caprile, who has been linked with Milan in the past, and Gianluca Gaetano were redeemed.
On the face of things, as such, you could argue that Cagliari improved their team from last season. The start to this campaign seems to suggest so too, with 18 points collected so far. It’s not the greatest tally by any means, but they are already six points clear of relegation.
Moving on to the latest updates ahead of Friday’s clash, Yerry Mina has recovered from the flu and is expected to start tomorrow. Zito Luvumbo and Joseph Liteta are also back at Pisacane’s disposal, having been eliminated from the AFCON.
The bad news is that Belotti is still sidelined, having torn his ACL earlier in the season, and Folorunsho is battling a muscle strain. There are very few doubts about the starting XI, as such, with Gennaro Borrelli vs. Semih Kilicsoy being the only real open battle.
Predicted Cagliari XI (4-2-3-1): Caprile; Zappa, Mina, Luperto, Idrissi; Adopo, Deiola; Palestra, Gaetano, Esposito; Kilicsoy.
Predicted bench: Radunovic, Ciocci, Prati, Borrelli, Di Pardo, Pavoletti, Cavuoti, Pintus, Rog, Obert, Cogoni, Mazzitelli, Trepy, Rodriguez, Luvumbo, Liteta.
Injuries & suspensions: Belotti, Ze Pedro, Felici, Folorunsho.
Head to head
Milan and Cagliari have battled it out 93 times before, making tomorrow’s game the 94th encounter, and the Rossoneri have a pretty big advantage with 54 wins. The Sardinians have mustered a mere 9 wins in this fixture, with the remaining 30 games ending in draws.
The latest defeat for Milan dates back to the 2016-17 season (with the same referee as tomorrow), and since then, there have been eleven wins and four draws. Two of those draws have come in the last two encounters, though, as the Rossoneri now have a point to prove.
There will also be a lust for revenge as Cagliari snatched a 3-3 draw the last time Milan visited the Unipol Domus. Despite taking the lead twice, Paulo Fonseca’s men only came away with one point after conceding an 89th-minute screamer from Gabriele Zappa.
It was a brilliant game for the neutrals, admittedly, but it was also a perfect example of why Milan’s 2024-25 season went the way it did.
Key facts and stats
➤ There have been 46 official meetings between the two teams in Sardinia: Cagliari have won 5 (most recently 2–1 in Serie A 2016/17), there have been 19 draws (most recently 3–3 in Serie A 2024/25) and Milan have won 22 (most recently 3–1 in Serie A 2023/24).
➤ Cagliari’s last home win over the Rossoneri dates back to 28 May 2017: a 2–1 victory, with a goal from João Pedro, Lapadula’s equaliser for Milan, and a last-gasp winner by Fabio Pisacane.
➤ Milan have scored in 14 consecutive away matches at Cagliari, for a total of 25 goals. The last time a match in Sardinia ended with Milan failing to score was 5 October 2008 (0–0).
➤ On 1 February 1976, Cagliari–Milan 1–3 was Gigi Riva’s last match: he suffered the serious injury that halted his career and was replaced by Marchesi in the 53rd minute.
➤ Cagliari have scored in six consecutive matches: it is their longest scoring run of the season, with 10 goals in that spell. Their last match without scoring was on 8 November, a 0–0 draw against Como.
➤ Cagliari are one of six Serie A teams that have not yet received a red card, along with Lecce, Napoli, Torino, Inter and Verona.
➤ Milan are the Serie A 2025/26 side against whom the most penalties have been awarded after 17 matchdays (5), level with Udinese.
➤ 13 of Milan’s 27 goals have been scored around half-time: specifically, 6 goals from the 31st to the 45th minute (stoppage time included) — level with Bologna, Atalanta and Napoli — and 7 from the 46th to the 60th minute, level with Bologna.
➤ Milan are unbeaten in 15 league matches: 10 wins and 5 draws. Milan have gone unbeaten for at least 15 consecutive matches in a single top-flight campaign for the first time since 2021/22.
➤ Across Europe’s top five leagues, no team has made fewer substitutions than Milan (56). On the other hand, only Inter (13) and Juventus (13) have had more different goalscorers than Milan (12) in Serie A.
➤ Massimiliano Allegri is the “ex” of the day: he managed the Rossoblù from July 2008 to April 2010, taking charge of 74 official matches with a record of 27 wins, 15 draws and 32 defeats.
➤ Fabio Pisacane faced Milan six times as a player, all of them for Cagliari: a record of five defeats and one win — the May 2017 match, in which he also scored.
➤ Christopher Nkunku recorded his first Italian brace last time out. The French forward had not scored in the league since 25 February (Chelsea–Southampton 4–0, Premier League). His last brace in official matches came on 7 November 2024 (Chelsea–Noah 8–0, Conference League), while his last brace in a league match dated back to 27 May 2023 (Leipzig–Schalke 04 4–2, Bundesliga).
Ones to watch
Given the subpar physical condition of most forwards, Loftus-Cheek will definitely get the chance from start, potentially in attack as we have seen before. While he does a lot of things well, we still need to see a more prolific side of him in the penalty box.
Cagliari are very strong in the heart of their defence, especially in aerial duels, so the Englishman will have to take a bit of responsibility and help Milan out there. In addition to him, De Winter will have to be kept under close observation too, having struggled a bit lately.
As for Cagliari, it’s impossible not to mention Zappa here given his brace in the same fixture last season. Milan should expect him to offer a lot of support in attack, running down that right-hand side, and the defenders will thus have to be aware of his presence in the box.
Deiola is another very solid player who shouldn’t be given too much space to operate in. He’s more of a hard-worker than a playmaker, admittedly, but we have also seen him score some very good goals over the years. In short, on a good day, he can be dangerous passing and shooting-wise.
Prediction
After two consecutive draws against the Sardinian side, it’s time for Milan to put their foot down and clinch all three points. The fact that Gabbia can’t start and Pavlovic is in doubt could play a massive part, but the Rossoneri should have a good enough XI to win, even if it won’t be easy.
Cagliari 1-2 AC Milan
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