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AC Milan will be hoping to make it three wins on the spin in Serie A as they make the trip to face Udinese on Saturday night.
After losing the opening game against Cremonese, Milan have bounced back well by beating Lecce away from home and Bologna at home – not conceding in both games – to find themselves in fifth place after three rounds.
Massimiliano Allegri spoke in his pre-match press conference on the eve of the game and – to the surprise of some – picked out this particular match as one of four crucial fixtures across the course of a league campaign. It shows that he is not underestimating the opposition at all.
Game date: Saturday, September 20
Kick-off time: 20:45 (CEST)
Venue: Bluenergy Stadium
Referee: Daniele Doveri (VAR: Meraviglia)
Team news
As mentioned, Milan have recovered well following their shock defeat against the newly-promoted Cremonese last month. The victory against Lecce (0-2) before the break was followed by a win over Bologna (1-0) on Sunday, in which the away side did not even manage a shot on target.
The new-found defensive strength has certainly been a positive for Allegri’s side. In fact, they are Europe’s leaders when it comes to Expected Goals Against (quality of chances) and total shots against, which shows the increase in solidity.
However, the rearguard was dented in that win over the Rossoblu as Mike Maignan and Strahinja Pavlovic both suffered injuries. It seems the Frenchman will at least be absent for this particular trip, even if he has avoided a serious muscle injury.
For Pavlovic, though, the hopes are certainly higher. He completed the first part of training with the group on Thursday, and whilst he returned to individual work afterwards, the hope is that he will be ready to go by Saturday.
As has been previously confirmed by the head coach, Leao is expected to miss the match against Udinese on September 20th and the Coppa Italia match against Lecce at San Siro on September 23rd. He is continuing to recover from a calf issue, and is targeting the Napoli match next weekend.
The only other injury problem is Ardon Jashari, which was known as well given he fractured his leg. The hope is that Christopher Nkunku and Christian Pulisic are close to 100% having started on the bench versus Bologna due to not being fully fit.
La Gazzetta dello Sport are expecting Allegri to revert to a 3-5-2 after being forced to use a 3-5-1-1 against Bologna. The good news is Pavlovic has shaken off that problem and should start alongside Matteo Gabbia and Fikayo Tomori, with Pietro Terracciano in goal.
Alexis Saelemaekers and Pervis Estupinan should be the wing-backs who flank a midfield trio of Youssouf Fofana, Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot. Santiago Gimenez and Christian Pulisic are tipped to lead the line as the front two.
What is interesting is that Sky’s predicted team did not have Rabiot present in it. That seems unlikely given his impressive debut, and on their website it now has him in, with Loftus-Cheek missing out and Fofana starting.
Predicted Milan XI (3-5-2): Terracciano; Tomori, Gabbia, De Winter; Saelemaekers, Loftus-Cheek, Modric, Rabiot, Estupinan; Gimenez, Pulisic.
The opponents
Udinese are heading into another season under Kosta Runjaic, the head coach that was appointed before last season. Speaking of which, in 2024-25 they had a solid campaign in which they were never really in any danger at either end, amassing 44 points from 38 games.
The Bianconeri have certainly brought some money in this summer. Jaka Bijol joined Leeds for €18m, Lazar Samardzic’s Atalanta switch was made permanent for €14.8m, Nehuen Perez joined Porto for €13.3m and RC Lens signed Florian Thauvin for €6m. The big loss though is Lorenzo Lucca, who went to Napoli for a €9m loan fee with a €26m obligation to buy.
In terms of spending, Udinese – as per usual – didn’t really push the boat out on any one player. Arthur Atta (€8m, from Metz), Lennon Miller (€5.5m, from Motherwell), Adam Bursa (€5m, from Midtjylland) and Luca Kjerrumgaard (€5m, from Odense) were the main additions.
They also got Saba Goglichidze for €4m from Empoli, Jakub Piotrowski from Ludogorets for €3m and some other complementary pieces. If nothing else, it seems they have shored up their squad depth. All figures quotes, for reference, are via Transfermarkt.
It is a case of so far, so good in the second season under Runjaic. They have won three of four competitive games so far, drawing their Serie A opener against Verona before beating Inter at San Siro and Pisa away from home. The other victory was 2-0 against Carrerese in the Coppa Italia.
What it means is Udinese actually go into this game above Milan in the table, in fourth with seven points on the board. The come-from-behind win against the Nerazzurri stands out, with eyes on an early-season Milanese double.
In terms of selection issues, Daniele Padelli will be out with a knee injury, Vakoun Bayo has a thigh problem and is expected to miss out, while Sandri Lovric is also injured. La Gazzetta dello Sport think Udinese will match the Diavolo system-wise.
Davis and Bravo are tipped to lead the line with Piotrowski, Karlstrom and Atta across the midfield. Kristensen – who has been linked with a move to Milan in the past few days – will be the defensive anchor, along with the impressive Solet.
Predicted Udinese XI (3-5-2): Sava; Bertola, Kristensen, Solet; Ehizibue, Piotrowski, Karlstrom, Atta, Kamara; Davis, Bravo.
Head to head
AC Milan have played Udinese 107 times across their history in competitive fixtures, with a record of 47 wins, 37 draws and 23 defeats.
The Rossoneri took six points from the Zebre. The first win was a much-needed one at San Siro when Paulo Fonseca was under his first real spell of pressure, with Samuel Chukwueze scoring the only goal and Milan hanging on after Tijjani Reijnders’ controversial red card just 29 minutes in.
Back in Udinese it was an absolute schooling from Sergio Conceicao’s side. Rafael Leao, Strahinja Pavlovic, Theo Hernandez and Reijnders all scored in a 4-0 rout, which would end up being a high point under the Portuguese.
In the same fixture a year prior, Milan scored twice late on to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win with Luka Jovic and Noah Okafor the heroes. The players had to go off in that game after Mike Maignan was racially abused, and there is no love lost after that incident.
Key stats and facts
➤ There have been 52 official previous meetings between the two teams in Friuli, with a record of 15 Udinese victories, 19 draws, and 18 Milan successes.
➤ Milan has scored 7 goals in the last two matches played in Udine. Last year, the 0-4 result in Udinese vs. Milan was the largest away victory of the 2024-25 season for the rossoneri (goals by Leao, Pavlovic, Theo Hernandez, and Reijnders).
➤ Udinese made their Serie A debut against Milan, losing 2-6 at San Siro on September 10, 1950. The scorers for the rossoneri were Liedholm, Annovazzi, Santagostino (brace), Renosto, and Nordahl, while for the Friulian team, Perissinotto (the first in bianconera history in the top division) and Rinaldi scored.
➤ On May 16 2009, the 2-1 result of Udinese vs. Milan secured the scudetto for Inter, the fourth consecutive title of the nerazzurri’s five-year winning streak from 2006 to 2010.
➤ Udinese has 7 points after 3 matches, the same as last year, and still with Runjaic as coach.
➤ This is the first managerial encounter between Kosta Runjaic and Massimiliano Allegri.
➤ Massimiliano Allegri faced Udinese 5 times as a player with a record of 1 win for the Tuscan coach (2-1 when he played for Perugia, scoring one of the two Umbrian goals), 2 draws (2-2 when he was at Pescara and 1-1 when he played for Napoli), and 2 defeats (1-2 with Pescara, 0-1 with Cagliari).
➤ Iker Bravo, born on January 13, 2005, has scored his 4th goal in official matches since playing in Italy and is the third youngest player to have scored, both in the last round of the season and in the first 3 rounds of the 2025-26 Serie A. The first is Vasilije Adzic (date of birth May 12, 2006), followed by Yildiz (born May 4, 2005).
➤ Luka Modric is in sixth place overall in the ranking of the oldest scorers in Serie A, from 1929-30 to the present day. In the top two positions are two other former Milan players: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored in March 2023 at 41 years, 5 months, and 15 days, and Alessandro Costacurta, who scored in May 2007 at 41 years and 25 days.
➤ Luka Modric has also become the oldest midfielder to score a goal in the history of Serie A
(40 years and 5 days), surpassing the record of Nils Liedholm (38 years and 169 days) who
scored for the rossoneri against Inter.
Ones to watch
Starting with the hosts, it almost feels like an easy choice to choose Thomas Kristensen here. The Dane has started the season excellently in defence, and now Milan are interested ahead of a potential January move. Reports have already suggested this weekend will be a chance to scout, and scout they will.
Elsewhere, Keinan Davies could provide some threat to the Rossoneri. There are certainly still defensive questions that need asking of Massimiliano Allegri’s team. So, with a goal and an assist so far this season, the Englishman could look to make the most of those questions.
Now to the Diavolo themselves. It almost feels harsh at this point, but sometimes you’ve got to say things the way they are. Until he gives a reason for it to move, the limelight will remain on Santiago Gimenez. The Mexican is trying to prove himself, but so far, it is a challenge that he is not able to overcome.
Koni De Winter also comes into this game with questions on his back. The sale of Malick Thiaw has left many questioning the decision to sign the Belgian. So, he could well start proving people wrong this weekend, even if he is set to start on his unpreferred side.
Prediction
Udinese 1-1 AC Milan
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