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AC Milan get their 2025-26 season underway tonight at San Siro as they welcome Bari in the Coppa Italia round of 32.
With preseason now in the books, Massimiliano Allegri and his side are starting a week earlier than the rivals due to the 8th-place finish last season, meaning they are forced to participate in the Coppa Italia last 32.
Our pre-match preview has all of the latest team news plus some insight on the opposition, while below are the key battles ahead of the game.
Milan vs. Bari: The five key battles
What is perhaps the most interesting bit of team news is that Allegri is expected to field Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic together as a front two, while waiting for Santiago Gimenez to reach 100% after joining preseason late, and also while waiting for a new striker to arrive.
The Portuguese and the American should face off against Bari centre-back duo Dimitrios Nikolaou and Francesco Vicari. The latter is 31 years of age and is the leader of the defence as the captain, while the former is on loan from Palermo so will be keen to make a good impression.
Speaking of loanees, Bari also welcomed in Riccardo Pagano from Roma earlier in the window. The box-to-box midfielder is likely to come up against Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who will want to build on a positive preseason and prove to Allegri that he should start week-in week-out.
There will be an all-Italian battle in the Milan third, with central defender Matteo Gabbia expected to face off against Gabriele Moncini. Moncini is another new addition for the Galletti, having left Brescia who have been in financial turmoil. Gabbia meanwhile will hope to demonstrate that he can be the anchor in a three-man defence.
Finally, we end with a duel on the Rossoneri’s right side. Alexis Saelemaekers returned from his loan at Roma to stay and is expected to be the wing-back on that flank, while Bari’s stand-out performer last season was probably Emile Dorval, with his nine league goal contributions from left-back.
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