AC Milan return to Serie A action at San Siro for the first time since the March international break as they welcome Udinese.
Milan once again need to bounce back after a negative result, this one their most damaging: a loss to Napoli on Easter Monday. That defeat was the third in their last six games, and all came via a 1-0 scoreline, to effectively end any faint hopes of a Scudetto comeback.
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In his pre-match press conference, head coach Massimiliano Allegri insisted that his side cannot feel sorry for themselves or they risk turning a rough patch into a crisis. They welcome a Udinese side meanwhile who have a bit of a ‘free hit’, considering they are 11th.
Game date: Saturday, April 11
Kick-off time: 18:00 (CEST)
Venue: San Siro
Referee: Matteo Marchetti (VAR: Maggioni)
Team news
With Inter now nine points ahead and even second place surrendered, Milan must now focus on defending their spot inside the top four, with fifth place only six points away and some big games yet to come.
There is some good news though: Milan now finally have a clean bill of health. Centre-back Matteo Gabbia was the most recent to be discharged from the treatment room, meaning that Allegri has a fully fit squad to choose from, which feels like a first.
The build-up to the game has been dominated by criticism aimed at the attacking department given the lack of goal output from Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao, Niclas Füllkrug, Christopher Nkunku and Santiago Gimenez, the latter of whom has just returned.
Allegri has made his assessments, and after sticking with the 3-5-2 system for the entirety of the season (at least from minute one) reports from various sources are suggesting that he has been trying a 4-3-3 in training.
The main change of course is the removal of a centre-back and the addition of another forward. The doubts concern who the pairing will be at the back (and thus who will be dropped), who the full-backs will be, plus what the composition of the attacking trident will be.
So, for the first time in a blue moon, Maignan will start in goal with a back four in front of him. Koni De Winter and Strahinja Pavlovic retain their places in central defence, whilst Fikayo Tomori has missed out. Instead, Zachary Athekame takes the spot at right-back and Davide Bartesaghi lines up on the opposite flank.
There are no changes in midfield at all, so Youssouf Fofana, Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot will look to control the midfield.
Finally, Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao will start together, looking to improve their record this season. Then, leading the line, Santiago Gimenez will return to the Milan starting XI as the striker, a big chance for him.
Predicted Milan XI (4-3-3): Maignan; Athekame, De Winter, Pavlovic, Bartesaghi; Fofana, Modric, Rabiot; Pulisic, Gimenez, Leao.
Predicted bench: Terracciano, Pittarella, Tomori, Saelemaekers, Gabbia, Odogu, Estupinan, Loftus-Cheek, Jashari, Ricci, Leao, Füllkrug.
Injuries & suspensions: None.
The opponents
In our preview ahead of the first meeting with Udinese in the league earlier this season, we recapped the summer transfer business that they had done. It seems to have helped what is looking like being a positive campaign for the Zebre.
Often grouped in with the usual mid-table suspects, Udinese have once again achieved their objective of staying up comfortably. The lowest they have been all season is 12th, while for the past few rounds they have remained steady in their current position (11th).
Their last few results tell a bit of a story regarding what they have become under Kosta Runjaic. They held Como to a 0-0 draw in the last round, won 2-0 at Genoa before that, lost 1-0 to Juventus, drew 2-2 with Atalanta and beat Fiorentina 3-0.
It is a five-game spread that shows they are capable of making things tough for the top sides, and they beat who they probably should. It is not a bad recipe for staying in the division, with 11 wins and 13 defeats in their 31 games so far.
In terms of team news, Runjaic is expected to be without the injured Adam Buksa, Jordan Zemura and Alessandro Zanoli. The big news is the return of Keinan Davis, who has 10 Serie A goals this season and is the third-top scorer in the league as a result.
After last week’s draw, Kosta Runjaic will make a slight personnel change in formation and will change to a 3-5-2 system.
After keeping their eighth clean sheet of the season, there will be no changes to the backline, understandably. Okoye, then, starts in goal with Rossoneri interest Thomas Kristensen, Kabasele and Solet in front of him.
A midfield five is made up of Piotrowski, Karlstrom and Ekkelenkamp as the midfield triangle. The latter will play in a more advanced role. On the wings, Ehizibue and Kamara again will retain their spots.
Finally, Keinan Davis will return to the starting XI for Runjaic and he starts alongside Allegri’s interest, Nicolo Zaniolo.
Predicted Udinese XI (3-5-2): Okoye; Kristensen, Kabasele, Solet; Ehizibue, Piotrowski, Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp, Kamara; Zaniolo, Davis.
Predicted bench: Nunziante, Padelli, Bertola, Mlacic, Zarraga, Atta, Miller, Arizala, Gueye, Camara, Bayo.
Injuries & suspensions: Buksa, Zemura, Zanoli.
Head to head
AC Milan have played Udinese 108 times across their history in competitive fixtures, with a record of 48 wins, 37 draws and 23 defeats.
The Rossoneri took six points from the Zebre last seasn as Samuel Chukwueze netted the winner in the home game (in which Tijjani Reijnders saw red) while Rafael Leao, Strahinja Pavlovic, Theo Hernandez and Reijnders all scored in a 4-0 rout in the away game.
The game at the Dacia Arena earlier this season was a similar stroll in the park for Milan, as they won 3-0. Pulisic was the man in inspired form that night, netting a brace either side of a goal from Youssouf Fofana. How the American could do with a similar performance on Saturday.
Key facts and stats
➤ AC Milan have won their last four Serie A matches against Udinese and have only once registered a longer winning run against them in the top-flight (seven between 1998 and 2001). The Rossoneri could beat them four times in a row without conceding a single goal for the first time in the competition.
➤ Considering only second-half of the season matches, Udinese have lost their last two against AC Milan by an aggregate score of 7-2 and have only once lost three consecutive Serie A games against the Rossoneri in the second half of a season, between 1999 and 2001.
➤ Milan have won just four of their last 10 home Serie A matches against Udinese (D4 L2), after a run of three consecutive home victories. Following their 1-0 win against Udinese in their last such encounter on 19th October 2024, AC Milan could secure two consecutive home wins against them for the first time since 2014 (a run of three).
➤ Milan have lost three of their last six Serie A matches (W3), after remaining unbeaten in the previous 24 games (W15 D9); following their defeat against Napoli, the Rossoneri could lose consecutive league matches for the first time since March 2025 (a run of three, under manager Sérgio Conceição).
➤ Udinese have never repeated the same result twice in a row in their last six Serie A matches (W2 D2 L2); the Friulians arrive having kept two consecutive clean sheets and could record three for the second time under Kosta Runjaic in the league, after the period between February and March 2025.
➤ Considering only their performance against teams currently in the bottom half of the Serie A table, AC Milan would be seventh in the league with 34 points. However, despite their last matchday defeat against Napoli, the Rossoneri have collected 29 points against top-half teams, a joint-record with Inter.
➤ Both Milan and Udinese have netted five penalties in Serie A this season, level with Inter and fewer only than Fiorentina and Pisa (both six). However, Udinese have also conceded six goals from the spot, the joint-most alongside Genoa and Napoli.
➤ Mike Maignan is set to make his 300th appearance in Europe’s ‘top five’ leagues. Since joining Milan in the 2021/22 season, the French goalkeeper has provided three assists in Serie A with only Ederson (five) having registered more among goalkeepers in the top five European leagues during this period, while Pau López and Mark Flekken have also provided three.
➤ After scoring eight goals between August and December 2025, Christian Pulisic has not yet found the net in Serie A in this calendar ear (13 goalless appearances, his longest scoring drought in the competition); in 2026, the American has also attempted 12 shots on target without success, at least twice as many as any other player who has not scored in Serie A in this calendar year.
➤ Milan are one of four teams (alongside Atalanta, Fiorentina and Torino) against whom Nicolò Zaniolo has scored more than one goal in Serie A (two goals against all of them); the 25-year-old is one of only three Italian players (alongside Federico Dimarco and Sebastiano Esposito) with at least five goals and at least five assists in this league campaign.
Ones to watch
The ones to watch, at least from a Milan perspective, feel easy to pick up. Zachary Athekame gets a rare start and at right-back, his presence will be of extreme interest. With a lot of potential, he could secure a long-term spot with a fine performance.
Santiago Gimenez’s reintroduction into the starting XI will also bring intrigue. The Mexican has struggled to make an impact this season and he will hope to immediately get going for Massimiliano Allegri on Saturday.
For the visitors, Thomas Kristensen will stand out, given that the Rossoneri have held an interest in the central defender recently. If he performs frustratingly well, that interest could be acted upon in the summer.
Nicolo Zaniolo’s performance will also be noted. Allegri has reportedly become interested in his situation and if he can cause problems for the back four, it would not be a surprise if discussions were had about his future.
Prediction
Moving to the 4-3-3, the Diavolo will be expected to play more offensively on Saturday and they must start scoring again. In the 3-5-2, they have struggled recently, so the move away must bear fruit and Allegri will demand as much.
Defensive solidity will also be needed if the coach doesn’t see a complete picture; maybe the formation will be shelved again.
AC Milan 2-0 Udinese
4-3-3 blah blah. Allegri won’t deviate. 3-5-2, Gimenez and Pulisic or Leao from the start.