AC Milan vs Cagliari: preview, team news, how to watch and prediction

AC Milan will welcome relegation-threatened Cagliari in Serie A at San Siro Stadium on Saturday night.

After parting ways with Scudetto-winning coach Stefano Pioli, the Rossoneri opted to appoint Paulo Fonseca as the new manager ahead of this season.

But, having endured a dire first half of this campaign, the Italian giants decided to sack the Portuguese boss. As a replacement for the former AS Roma boss, they have appointed yet another Portuguese boss, Sergio Conceicao.

The former FC Porto boss led Milan in the Italian Super Cup and helped them win this competition. They showed great character in both the games – which they lacked in recent times.

Despite trailing against Juventus in the semi-final, they came back brilliantly in the second half. In the final, Conceicao’s side found themselves trailing 2-0 but they fought back brilliantly and eventually won the game 3-2. So, in only two games in charge, the Portuguese boss has already helped his new club win a trophy.

Milan are currently seventh in Serie A with 27 points from 17 games, sitting eight points behind the fourth-placed Lazio – who have played two more games. Therefore, if the Rossoneri can string a few wins over the coming matches then they will be able to close the gap with the top-four spot.

On the other hand, Cagliari are currently languishing 18th in the table with 17 points from nine games. They lost five consecutive games before beating bottom side Monza last time out so Davide Nicola’s side will be hoping to stay on the winning path to move away from the drop zone.

Previous meetings

Milan have had a great record against their Saturday opponent as they haven’t lost to them since 2017, winning 11 games in all competitions during this period.

The Rossoneri won five consecutive games versus Cagliari before drawing 3-3 in the reverse match of this season at Unipol Domus Stadium. Therefore, the visitors will be hoping to rectify their record versus the seven-time European Champions in this fixture.

How to watch

The game will kick off at 7:45 PM UK time and the match will be televised live on TNT Sports 1 and OneFootball in the UK.

Alternatively, fans can buy AC Milan tickets from the club exchange or use a trusted online reseller such as Seatsnet.com.

Team news

Alessandro Florenzi, Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze have been out injured in recent weeks and are set to remain sidelined for this encounter as well.

On the other hand, Cagliari don’t have many injury problems at the moment, the only name on the casualty list is Zito Luvumbo. Moreover, Yerry Mina sustained an injury last time out against Monza so he is in doubt for this fixture.

Predicted line-ups

Conceicao could go with a 4-3-3 system for this encounter and Mike Maignan should keep hold of his place between the sticks. In front of the Frenchman, Fikayo Tomori and Malick Thiaw could be the centre-back pairing.

Theo Hernandez is likely to be in the left-back position after scoring and assisting against Inter Milan in the Super Cup final, while Emerson Royal may be on the opposite side ahead of Davide Calabria.

Youssouf Fofana is likely to be in the defensive midfield position and alongside him, Tijjani Reijnders should commence. Yunus Musah could complete the midfield trio so Ruben Loftus-Cheek may feature off the bench.

Rafael Leao is likely to be deployed on the left flank, while Christian Pulisic is expected to be on the right. Alvaro Morata should keep hold of his place in the centre-forward position, therefore, Tammy Abraham would have to settle for a place on the bench despite scoring the winner against Inter last time out.

Expected Milan line-up vs Cagliari

Maignan; Emerson, Thiaw, Tomori, Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders, Musah; Leao, Morata, Pulisic

As for Cagliari, Nicola could deploy a 4-4-2 formation for this game and Simone Scuffet could be between the sticks. If Mina can’t feature then Jose Luis Palomino is likely to be deployed alongside Sebastiano Luperto at the back with Adam Obert and Gabriele Zappa expected to be the two fullbacks.

Michel Ndary Adopo and Antoine Makoumbou should be paired up in the centre midfield position, while Mattia Felici and Nadir Zortea may commence on the flanks. Nicolas Viola and Roberto Piccoli could be the two centre-forwards.

Expected Cagliari line-up vs Milan

Scuffet; Zappa, Palomino, Luperto, Obert; Adopo, Makoumbou, Felici, Zortea; Viola and Piccoli

Key players

Leao has been the talismanic figure for the Rossoneri over the years and even played a key role in his side’s Scudetto triumph a few years ago. But, he has been in and out of the squad thus far this season.

Despite that, he has already made 12 goal contributions this term. He started the derby on the bench and after his introduction, Milan managed to turn the game around. The Portuguese is a top-class player and if he can play at his best then Milan’s chance of winning this game will multiply.

Hernandez is another key player for Milan and he offset the comeback versus Inter by scoring a brilliant free-kick. Cagliari will have to find a way to stop the Frenchman in order to come away with a positive result from this encounter.

Pulisic has been the main man for Milan this season and has made 15 goal contributions in all competitions. So, he will be hoping to help his side come away with all three points from this fixture by putting his name on the scoresheet.

As for Cagliari, Piccoli has been their highest scorer in Serie A this term so the onus will be on him to help the visitors win this encounter by putting his name on the scoresheet.

The responsibility will be on Felici and Zortea to stretch the opposition’s backline to create holes for the two strikers.

Cagliari’s back-four and the goalkeeper will have to be at the top of their game to keep Milan at bay. If they manage to keep a clean-sheet then their chance of winning this game will increase.

Prediction

Milan will be the favourites to win this game, however, they will be coming into this encounter off the back of a brilliant Super Cup triumph. In this situation, teams can be complacent and not at their best. So, Conceicao will have to be careful about that.

On the other hand, Cagliari are currently in the relegation zone so they will be desperate to string some positive results and move out of the drop zone. But, winning this encounter could be too difficult for them.

Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see how the game eventually unfolds on the day. Milan 3-1 Cagliari