Following their dramatic Super Cup victory, AC Milan will host Cagliari in their Serie A opening match on Saturday night, aiming to continue their excellent start under Sergio Conceicao.
The Rossoneri twice came back from being behind at half-time to win two hard-fought matches and lift the Supercoppa Italiana trophy, while their opponents from Sardinia celebrated a more modest success in their most recent game.
Latest team news for AC Milan vs Cagliari
After making a big impact coming off the bench in Milan's Super Cup final victory, Rafael Leao may be fit enough to make his first start for Sergio Conceicao this weekend.
Cagliari is one of Leao's favorite opponents, with five league goals scored against them so far, including one in each of the last two encounters between the two teams at San Siro.
Having returned from a forgotten position, Fikayo Tomori appears to be the first-choice center-back, while goalkeeper Mike Maignan is the new captain of the Rossoneri.
Once again, Noah Okafor, Samuel Chukwueze, and Alessandro Florenzi are absent due to injury, while Emerson Royal is serving a suspension.
Cagliari will travel north without Zito Luvumbo, while Colombian defender Yerry Mina is doubtful due to an ankle sprain.
Having just signed from Napoli in a swap deal involving Simone Scuffet, goalkeeper Elia Caprile could make his debut in goal.
Up front, Roberto Piccoli will be supported by either Nicolas Viola or Gianluca Gaetano. Notably, Piccoli's 18 top-league goals were scored against 18 different teams, but he has yet to score against Milan in 387 minutes of playing time.
Latest predicted lineups for AC Milan vs Cagliari
AC Milan:
Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Morata
Cagliari:
Caprile; Zappa, Mina, Luperto, Obert; Zortea, Adopo, Makoumbou, Augello; Viola; Piccoli
Latest AC Milan vs Cagliari football match prediction
An impressive comeback secured Milan their eighth Supercoppa title on Monday night, made even sweeter by defeating their arch-rivals, after overcoming champions Inter Milan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Tammy Abraham's late goal completed the Rossoneri's dramatic comeback in the Derby della Madonnina, following earlier strikes from Theo Hernandez and Christian Pulisic – and Rafael Leao's inspiring second-half appearance proved crucial.
Within just a week of his appointment, new coach Sergio Conceicao led Milan to victories against Juventus and their city rivals, securing the club's first title since overtaking Inter to win the Scudetto in 2022.
Leao spoke of a new spirit under the leadership of his Portuguese compatriot, who proudly declared that he wasn't hired to be loved by the players, before smashing a screen during his half-time speech against Juve.
Under former coach Paulo Fonseca, Milan had failed to stage a comeback even once this season, but now they've done it twice in a few days, reinforcing the belief that a top-four finish in Serie A is still within reach.
Before heading to the East last week, the Rossoneri's 1-1 home draw with Roma left them eighth in the table, but they still have at least a game in hand compared to most of their Champions League rivals.
The last Milan coach to win all three of his opening games was the great Arrigo Sacchi, in August 1987, but Conceicao could join that club on Saturday, when the second-city giants meet their favorite rivals.
Up to this century, Cagliari have faced Milan 18 times at San Siro in Serie A, losing at least 17 times. During that time, they have conceded around 46 goals and only scored 11.
Indeed, whether at home or away, the Rossoblu have failed to win in 13 league encounters between these two vastly different clubs, following a dramatic 3-3 draw in Sardinia in November.
On that day, Nadir Zortea opened the scoring before Gabriele Zappa proved to be an unexpected hero for the home side, scoring a superb brace in the second half. Zortea had also scored the previous weekend, when Cagliari beat Monza 2-1 with 10 men.
With his fifth goal of the season, Roberto Piccoli sealed the victory against bottom-placed teams, boosting their hopes of avoiding relegation for the second consecutive time.
After losing their last four matches of 2024, that result was a huge relief for head coach Davide Nicola, who is known as a specialist in avoiding relegation.
However, the last time Cagliari won two consecutive matches was in March, and their record at San Siro suggests that securing maximum points can be a difficult task.
Predicting the score for AC Milan vs Cagliari
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have come up with the following predictions for the AC Milan vs Cagliari match:
- Sportsmole: AC Milan 3-0 Cagliari
- WhoScore: AC Milan 2-0 Cagliari
- Our prediction: AC Milan 3-0 Cagliari
When and where can I watch AC Milan vs Cagliari live?
To watch the AC Milan vs Cagliari match live in Serie A at 2:45 AM on January 12th, viewers can tune in to K+ Sport, K+PM, or other online sports channels. We wish you enjoyable football viewing moments.
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