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AC Milan will play their third game in less than a week on Thursday night, making the short trip to the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia to face Como.
It hasn’t been the best start to 2026 for Milan, who followed up a narrow win against Cagliari with draws against Genoa and Fiorentina, who are also battling relegation. Late equalisers were needed in each of the games too, suggesting that the issues of facing lower-ranking teams is still present.
Como are an entirely different proposition though. In his pre-match press conference, Massimiliano Allegri spoke of the threat the opponents pose, as well as taking stock of the season so far and highlighting areas to improve.
Game date: Thursday, January 15
Kick-off time: 20:45 (CET)
Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia
Referee: Marco Guida (VAR: Doveri)
Team news
As mentioned, it has been a stuttering start to the new year for Milan. A 1-0 victory over Cagliari away from home was followed by a 1-1 draw against Genoa last Thursday and the same score against Fiorentina on Sunday afternoon.
Rafael Leao was the man who netted in the 92nd-minute to keep the unbeaten run going against the Rossoblu, and a few days later it was Christopher Nkunku who bagged in the 90th minute to deny La Viola a big win. In other words, there are warning signs regarding the Rossoneri.
The good news from the Stadio Artemio Franchi was that Niclas Füllkrug looked sharp in his first start and should have had multiple assists for Christian Pulisic, while Nkunku made it three goals in his last two games, so finally there is some forward depth.
At present, there is one injury doubt: Allegri may be forced to do without Strahinja Pavlovic, whose situation will be monitored daily to see whether he can play after he received nine stitches above his eyebrow at the weekend after a nasty collision.
The other known absentee is Santiago Gimenez, who continues to recover from an ankle issue that he underwent surgery on. Fikayo Tomori served his one-game ban in Florence and therefore returns to contention on Thursday.
On Tuesday evening, it emerged that Niclas Füllkrug has sustained a fractured toe, and though there was initially talk of him being out for one month, it seems Roma away next week is the target for the German. As Allegri confirmed, Rafael Leao is feeling better and seems likely to start.
The other main story in the build-up to the game is about whether Allegri might be tempted to change systems. The 3-5-2 is no longer keeping clean sheets consistently, while changing to a more attacking formation led to the late goals against Genoa and Fiorentina. The boss admitted his side can play other ways.
Despite that, it seems that Allegri will favour the back three system once again, with Como not expected to sit and soak up pressure. So, Mike Maignan gives a pretty standard start to the backline, whilst the inclusion of Matteo Gabbia and Fikayo Tomori continues this.
However, the inclusion of Koni De Winter, in place of Pavlovic, provides a bit of a shift from the norm.
In the middle of the park, there will be several changes, which is certainly rare for Allegri. Youssouf Fofana, Adrien Rabiot and Luka Modric will all return to the starting XI, whilst Davide Bartesaghi is also expected to come back in at wing-back. Alexis Saelemaekers, then, is the only survivor from the weekend’s midfield five.
Then, Rafael Leao seems likely to start alongside Christian Pulisic on the frontline. There have been suggestions that Niclas Füllkrug could feature, but it will be from the bench if anything.
Predicted Milan XI (3-5-2): Maignan; De Winter, Gabbia, Tomori; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Leao.
Predicted Milan bench: Terracciano, Torriani, Athekame, Dutu, Odogu, Pavlovic, Estupinan, Loftus-Cheek, Jashari, Ricci, Nkunku.
Injured/suspended: Füllkrug, Pavlovic, Gimenez.
The opponents
By now, everyone is very much aware of the serious project that Como are building under the ownership of the Djarum group. Arguably their best summer business was keeping Cesc Fabregas as head coach, and many tipped them to challenge for the European spots.
Those potentially bullish projections were only bolstered by the summer window, which saw the club by the lake spend over €100m. Jesus Rodriguez joined from Real Betis for €22.5m, Nicolas Kühn from Celtic for €19m and Martin Baturina from Dinamo Zagreb for €18m.
The three headline coups were joined by Jayden Addai from AZ Alkmaar for €14m, Maximo Perrone from Manchester City for €13m and Alex Valle from Barcelona for €6m. Alvaro Morata (from Milan), Nikola Calvin and Stefan Posch also joined on loan.
Some predicted a mass exodus from Como with Fabregas tipped to depart and players like Nico Paz potentially following. Instead, only Gabriel Strefezza left the club who is noteworthy, heading to Olympiacos for €8m. The end result? A window with almost €100m net spend.
The Lariani are sixth in the table and are looking to gatecrash the establishment similar to how Atalanta have done in the past decade. They have won nine of their 19 games, with seven draws and only three defeats. Their 27 goals scored and 13 goals conceded speaks volumes about the dominance of some of their displays.
Como have beaten Lazio and Juventus this season already, while drawing against Atalanta, Napoli and Bologna. They are showing they can mix it with the big boys, while they have won three of their last four, scoring eight goals and conceding one in that run.
The consecutive defeats away from home against Inter (4-0) and Roma (1-0) demonstrate that there is perhaps another level needed before they can truly drop gloves against anyone. Yet, their form suggests they could be a problem for Milan.
Fabregas has four players that are expected to miss the game. The first is Edoardo Goldaniga who is day-to-day, as is Milan loanee Alvaro Morata. Assane Diao and Jayden Addai are expected to miss the next few games.
So, with injuries to contend with, the Spaniard will not make too many changes from the side who managed a late draw with Bologna at the weekend. Butez, Carlos and Kempf keep their places at the heart of the defence. However, Smolcic and Valle are both expected to return to the starting XI.
The midfield, though, will be standard. Fabregas will rely on the double pivot of Perrone and Da Cunha, with their gem Nico Paz sitting in a more advanced role. Out wide, Vojvoda and Rodriguez could cause issues.
Then, Douvikas will lead the team forward, with six goals this season in Serie A he poses a threat.
Predicted Como XI (4-2-3-1): Butez; Smolcic, Kempf, Diego Carlos, Valle; Perrone, Da Cunha; Vojvoda, Paz, Rodriguez; Douvikas.
Predicted Como bench: Vigorito, Cavlina, Ramon, Dossena, Moreno, Caqueret, Roberto, Baturina, Posch, Van der Brempt, Cerri, Kuhn, Le Borgne.
Head to head
Milan and Como have faced each other 34 times across history in all competitions, with Milan winning on 19 occasions, plus 10 draws and five wins for the Biancoblu. Quite a few of these meetings were in the Coppa Italia, given the time Como have spent outside the top flight.
Speaking of which, last season marked the first two Serie A meetings between the teams since 2002-23. The Rossoneri won 2-1 away from home, with Theo Hernandez and Rafael Leao overturning Diao’s opener.
Como also took the lead at San Siro too through Da Cunha. Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders were the ones who engineered the comeback this time, each scoring in the second half. The last time that the Lariani beat their Lombardy neighbours was back in 1985, while at home it was in 1982.
Key facts and stats
➤ Milan travel to face Como at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on Thursday with both sides out to extend Serie A unbeaten streak, as the away side have avoided defeat in 18 straight matches while the hosts look for their fifth straight game without a loss.
➤ Milan’s last Serie A match resulted in a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina at Stadio Artemio Franchi to
extend their unbeaten streak to 18, putting them in second place on 40 points. The Rossoneri are
three points behind first-placed Internazionale.
➤ The Rossoneri lead fifth-placed Juventus by four points for a spot in the Champions League. Como sit in sixth place on 34 points, five points behind fourth-placed Roma in the Champions League race with 19 matches left. Seventh-placed Atalanta, the first club outside of the Conference League Qualifiers spot, are three points behind Como.
➤ Como played out a 1-1 draw in their last Serie A match at home against Bologna, extending their unbeaten streak to four.
➤ Milan won the last Serie A meeting between the teams, emerging victorious 2-1 at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza last season. Christian Pulisic scored first for the Rossoneri in the 53rd minute. Tijjani Reijnders also was on the scoresheet. Lucas da Cunha scored Como’s only goal in the 33rd minute.
➤ For 2025/2026, Milan’s leading attacking threats have been Pulisic and Rafael Leão, who have scored eight and seven times, respectively. Pulisic ranks second among the league’s top scorers in 2025/2026, while Leão is third.
➤ The attacking threat of Tasos Douvikas and Nico Paz has made a difference for Como this season. The pair are the team’s joint top scorers with six goals, tied for the fifth highest among the league ‘s top scorers. Douvikas and Paz also share the same number of match-opening goals with three each.
➤ Hosts Como are unbeaten in home Serie A matches this season with five wins and four draws
from their nine contests on home soil. Milan have not been defeated in league away matches this season with five wins and four draws away from San Siro.
➤ The Rossoneri currently find themselves on a nine-match away unbeaten streak. The last time they were defeated in a Serie A away game was May 2025 against Roma.
➤ In their last six league matches, Como have won three, drawn one and lost two. Milan, meanwhile, have won three and drawn three in their last six.
Ones to watch
For the hosts, picking the first player is rather simple. It already seems that Nico Paz is in his final few months for Como, with Real Madrid expected to activate their buy-back clause in the summer. The Spaniard is, without a doubt, the gem of the Lariani, and he could occupy the midfield on Thursday.
Then, Jesus Rodriguez could also be problematic for the Rossoneri, too. The 20-year-old winger has been electric for Fabregas this season, and with six assists in the league so far, he will hope to add to his tally.
Picking players to watch for the visitors is not as easy as cases can be made for several. However, Youssouf Fofana will be one to keep an eye on. He got a fantastic assist at the weekend, and if he can play with that sort of confidence again, this could be a big game for him.
As of right now, it is unknown who will play on the left of the back three. Whoever does, though, will be one to watch. Maybe a slight cop out, nevertheless, if a strong performance is given, then Milan may not need to prioritise a side when looking for a new defender in the mercato.
Prediction
This will certainly not be an easy fixture by any means, and Allegri’s men – who are not in the best form of their lives – could well struggle against an unbeaten home Como side. If the Rossoneri could leave with a point, it would be a solid result… even if it is a little unambitious.
Como 1-1 Milan
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