AC Milan welcome Lecce to San Siro in the Coppa Italia round of 32, in what is the second meeting between the teams already in 2025-26.
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A few weeks ago, Milan celebrated a 2-0 win at the Stadio Via del Mare. They were made to wait until the second half to break the deadlock, but they did so with a Ruben Loftus-Cheek header, and then Christian Pulisic made sure of the points late on.
There is some talk of rotation from Massimiliano Allegri with half an eye on Sunday’s clash with table-toppers Napoli. However, there are equally reports circulating on the morning of the game suggesting that the coach is taking Lecce very seriously.
AC Milan vs. Lecce: The five key battles
Perhaps the biggest battle of the night – based on the leaked line-ups – is Santiago Gimenez against himself. The Mexican has not had a good start to the season and leads Europe for ‘big chances missed’ but will get another opportunity against the side bottom of Serie A.
His opponent will likely be Tiago Gabriel, who has been the stand-out performer for Lecce in what has been a difficult start to the season. The 20-year-old Portuguese centre-back has impressed so far and also has a goal to his name too, so he is a set-piece threat at the other end.
The game should also provide a chance for Samuele Ricci to show what he can do. The Italian has not started in any of the four league games so far which is surprising to many given how he looked in preseason, but he should be in the midfield control room tonight.
On the opposite side, it is expected that Medon Berisha will start in the middle of a midfield three for the visitors. Eusebio Di Francesco’s 4-3-3 system revolves around the single pivot, so the 21-year-old Albanian will be given a second start of the season to try and show he can do it.
Moving back to Milan’s attack, Christopher Nkunku is tipped to get his first start since joining in a €37m+ deal from Chelsea late in the window. The Frenchman has so far looked bright off the bench, but this will give him a better taste of the rhythm of Italian football.
Kialonda Gaspar should be the right centre-back, and the Angolan has become the bedrock of the Giallorossi since joining at the start of last season. He has played every minute available in Serie A so far and should lead the back line tonight too.
On the right flank, Alexis Saelemaekers will apparently start again in the wing-back role. The Belgian has been brilliant so far this season, combining work rate with having a hand in the attacking phase, and will be asked to work a bit of overtime tonight. Zachary Athekame is also in contention, it must be said.
Lecce are expected to name Corrie Ndaba as the left-back for this one. The 25-year-old Irishman has played 45 minutes of the Serie A campaign thus far and will probably largely have to make do with being a back-up for Antonino Gallo, though tonight he has an opportunity to show what he can do.
Finally, we come to the most intriguing duel of the night: Koni De Winter against Francesco Camarda. For De Winter, this would be the first start in the red and black since arriving from Genoa in the summer mercato, though he has so far looked very solid off the bench.
With Camarda, meanwhile, the story writes itself. He headed to Lecce on loan with an option to buy plus a buy-back in Milan’s favour, and with the Apulian side struggling for goals, he will get the chance to show what he can do against his parent club and also his boyhood team.