Milan’s mixed fate on matchday one shows Udinese clash must not be taken lightly

AC Milan will look to continue their positive recent record on matchday one as they host Udinese at San Siro tonight.

Milan have lost only one of their last 10 league matches against Udinese having won four and drawn five of them, however the one defeat in that stretch came on matchday one of 2019-20 when the Friulians beat the Rossoneri 1-0 on 25th August 2019 at the Dacia Arena with Rodrigo Becão’s goal.

In addition, this will be the sixth time Milan and Udinese will meet in round one of a Serie A season with one win for each side (for the Rossoneri it was back in 1950). There have been three draws in the five previous such meetings.

Milan haven’t drawn any of their last 10 Serie A matches on matchday one (W5, L5), with their last tie coming back in 2011-12 as a 2-2 against Lazio at San Siro began the title defence.

Finally, following wins against Bologna in 2020-21 and Sampdoria in 2021-22, the Rossoneri could win three round one games in a row in Serie A for the first time since 1987 to 1996 (10 in a row in that case).