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AC Milan will play their last game before the final international break of the year on Saturday night, facing Parma at the Stadio Ennio Tardini.
Milan come into the game 10 unbeaten across all competitions and nine without defeat in the league. They are buoyed by their most recent result too, a hard-fought 1-0 win over Roma in a six-pointer at the top of the table on Sunday night.
Massimililiano Allegri spoke in his pre-match press conference on the eve of the game and he outlined a number of key areas where he feels his side can get even better, despite making such a positive start.
Game date: Saturday, November 8
Kick-off time: 20:45 (CET)
Venue: Stadio Ennio Tardini
Referee: Marco Di Bello (VAR: Maggioni)
As mentioned, the victory against the Giallorossi was a huge one, and it had a bit of everything. A trademark driving run from Rafael Leao set up Strahinja Pavlovic for the only goal after the centre-back bombed forward to meet a counter.
Mike Maignan saved a late penalty from Paulo Dybala and Alexis Saelemaekers got embroiled in an altercation with Wesley, and seemingly the referee Marco Guida too who was accused of kicking out at the Belgian.
That win means Milan are now one point off league-leaders and – given that they play before Napoli, Roma and Inter this weekend – they can reclaim top spot even if temporarily, putting some pressure on those around them.
There is both good and bad news for Allegri on the injury front. Starting with the positive, Christian Pulisic returned to full training with the rest of the squad on Wednesday. He has been out in recent weeks with a muscle problem picked up on international duty, but will definitely be in the squad.
ESPN Deportes claimed that Santiago Gimenez could miss up to five weeks as he undergoes treatment to finally get rid of a problem in his ankle. However, Matteo Moretto has since reported that he will be out for a couple of weeks, and will be evaluated in view of the derby.
There were some hopes that Adrien Rabiot would be back too, but it has been confirmed that he will miss the Parma game. The Frenchman hopes to be available to Allegri for the derby, but it remains to be seen what will happen with his national team duties and whether he’ll stay in Italy.
A further bit of good news is that Ardon Jashari has another few days of full training under his belt. He was back in the matchday squad against Roma but didn’t come on, as he is some way off being 100% fit after being out for over two months with a fractured fibula. Could he get a cameo at the Tardini?
There seems to be some disagreement about the defensive department at the time of publishing. La Gazzetta dello Sport believe that Fikayo Tomori will come back in to partner Matteo Gabbia and Strahinja Pavlovic, but Sky think it will be Koni De Winter with the Englishman not yet fully fit.
Alexis Saelemaekers and Davide Bartesaghi are expected to be the wing-backs, operating either side of a midfield three that will again be comprised of Youssouf Fofana, Luka Modric and either Samuele Ricci (as per Gazzetta) or Ruben Loftus-Cheek (as per Sky).
The front two will almost certainly be Rafael Leao and Christopher Nkunku given that Pulisic isn’t fit enough to start yet and Gimenez is injured. The bench looks a bit healthier than it has, but there is still not much depth for Max to call upon.
Predicted Milan XI (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Ricci, Bartesaghi; Nkunku, Leao.
Predicted bench: Terracciano, Pittarella, De Winter, Odogu, Athekame, Estupinan, Loftus-Cheek, Jashari, Castiello, Pulisic.
Injuries & suspensions: Rabiot, Gimenez.
The opponents
For Parma, the 2024-25 season was about maintaining their top flight status and they did exactly that in the end, finishing in 16th place in the Serie A table and five points above the relegation zone. Fabio Pecchia was there until mid-February before being fired and replaced by Cristian Chivu.
Chivu’s results were good enough that his former club Inter came calling when they needed to replace the outgoing Simone Inzaghi. Thus, Parma turned to Carlos Cuesta, who had been one of Mikel Arteta’s assistants at Arsenal.
Looking at the business that the Krause-owned club did in the summer, they spent nearly €40m. Nearly all of it want on striker Matija Frigan (from Westerlo), midfield duo Christian Ordonez (from Velez Sarsfield) and Oliver Sorensen (from Midtjylland), plus centre-backs Abdoulaye Ndiaye (from Troyes) and Mariano Triolo (from Belgrano).
All joined for between €6.5m and €9m, showing a sweet spot that Parma are hoping to hit with their recruitment. They continue to rely heavily on player trading too, as seen by the fact that they recouped almost exactly €80m in sales.
The bulk of that was from Giovanni Leoni’s move to Liverpool and Ange-Yoan Bonny joining Inter, as they fetched a combined €54m. Simon Sohm (€15m, to Fiorentina) and Dennis Man (€8.5m, to PSV) were the other departures to generate decent cash.
So far this season, the Gialloblu are on course to do exactly what they did last season as they currently sit in 16th place, with one win, four draws and five defeats from their opening 10 games. That puts them just one point above Genoa in the final relegation spot.
Parma’s only victory came at the end of September against Torino, while they have lost against Juventus, Cagliari, Lecce, Roma and most recently Bologna in the Emilian derby. The big issue for them has been scoring goals: only five in their 10 league games so far.
Cuesta has a number of injury problems coming into this game. Ondrejka and Frigan will miss the game definitely, while Oristanio, Valeri, Circati and Estevez are all to be evaluated in the training sessions prior to the match. In addition, Ordonez will serve a suspension.
According to Sky, Parma will line up in a 4-3-1-2 system with Suzuki in goal, a defence of Delprato, Ndiaye, Valenti and Britschgi, a midfield of Keita, Hernani and Sorensen, then Bernabe operating behind Cutrone and Pellegrino.
Predicted Parma (4-3-1-2): Suzuki; Delprato, Ndiaye, Valenti, Britschgi; Keita, Hernani, Sorensen; Bernabe; Cutrone, Pellegrino.
Predicted bench: Corvi, Rinaldi, Triolo, Lovik, Cremaschi, Almqvist, Benedyczak, Begic, Djuric.
Injuries & suspensions: Ordonez, Ondrejka, Frigan, Oristanio, Valeri, Circati, Estevez.
Head to head
AC Milan and Parma have faced each other in 72 competitive games since the latter were founded in 1919. The record reads 38 wins for the Rossoneri, with 17 draws and 17 defeats.
Last season the two games between the two sides were full of drama. At the Tardini, Milan fell to defeat in their second game of the season, with Dennis Man and Matteo Cancellieri scoring either side of a Christian Pulisic equaliser as the home side won 2-1.
Back at San Siro, Cancellieri and Delprato’s goals had Parma on course for a repeat 2-1 win going into stoppage time. However, Tijjani Reijnders equalised in the 92nd minute, and Samuel Chukwueze bundled in a 95th-minute winner in a remarkable 3-2 victory.
The scenes at the end of the game are best remembered for being a mix of celebration, relief and chaos as Sergio Conceicao went onto the field and attempted to physically confront captain Davide Calabria, for reasons still unknown to this day.
Key facts and stats
➤ The two sides have met 34 times in official matches at the Tardini: Parma have 9 wins (most
recent: 2–1 in last season’s Serie A), there have been 10 draws (most recent: 1–1 in Serie A
2018-19), and Milan have 15 wins (most recent: 3–1 in Serie A 2020-21).
➤ Milan have scored in nine consecutive games at the Tardini (17 goals in total); their last
blank there was a 1–0 Serie A defeat on 24 March 2010.
➤ Parma vs Milan has been a trophy decider on three occasions: in the 1992 Italian Super Cup,
Milan prevailed 2–1 at San Siro; in the 1993 UEFA Super Cup, Parma won 2–0 at San Siro after
Milan’s 1–0 first-leg victory at the Tardini; Parma repeated the feat in the 1999 Italian Super
Cup, winning 2–1 at San Siro.
➤ Parma have scored the fewest goals in Serie A 2025-26: 5 goals in 10 games. They also have the fewest different scorers: 4, level with Pisa and Verona.
➤ The Crociati have received the most red cards (2, level with Lazio and Como).
➤ Parma are among the sides conceding the most goals to opposition substitutes (3, level
with Inter, Verona, Lecce, Cagliari and Atalanta).
➤ The Gialloblu have taken 2 points from their last 5 league games (3 defeats and 2 draws). They have
not won since 29 September, when they beat Torino 2–1 at the Tardini.
➤ Milan are unbeaten in nine matchdays, with 6 wins and 3 draws. The Rossoneri’s only defeat
came on Matchday 1, when Cremonese won 2–1 at San Siro on 24 August.
➤ This will be the first official meeting between Carlos Cuesta and Massimiliano Allegri.
➤ Strahinja Pavlović has scored his second goal of the 2025/26 Serie A season, matching last
year’s tally in a Milan shirt. His 2 goals in 2024-25 both came away from home; this season
both have been at San Siro. The Serbian defender’s personal best is 3 goals, set in 2023-24
with Salzburg (Austrian Bundesliga).
➤ Milan Đurić has made the most substitute appearances in Serie A 2025-26: 9 outings (42
minutes in total), all coming off the bench.
Ones to watch
The players to watch this week are a bit of a tap-in, for the hosts at least. Starting things off, Mateo Pellegrino will be a focus, thanks to the recent reports linking him with a move to Milan, potentially as early as January. If he can make things difficult for one of the best defences in Italy, it would be a big tick.
Then, Zion Suzuki’s name is in fashion again (if it ever wasn’t), the Japanese shot-stopper is one of the favourites to replace Mike Maignan, if the Frenchman departs. The Rossoneri have already been scouting him, so there is a perfect opportunity to do so again this weekend.
For Milan, it is quite simple again. It starts with Davide Bartesaghi, who must continue his good performances if he is to keep his place in the team. Pervis Estupinan is back in contention, and the Italian can further cement his place with a good performance.
Then, we have Christopher Nkunku. His chances of remaining in the team are certainly lower, with Christian Pulisic being welcomed back into the mix. However, with him struggling to impress so far, he must take opportunities when they arrive, and this could be his last chance to really show what he can do.
Prediction
You can make a strong case for this being an even bigger game than the Roma one, given the need to go into the break with a win and to begin showing more ruthlessness against bottom-half sides. Parma will not be pushovers though given they have their own battle, and we predict a one-goal margin of victory.
Parma 0-1 Milan
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