AC Milan will be looking to get back to winning ways in the league after the success in the Champions League mid-week. And with the top four race becoming even tougher, they are indeed in need of the three points.
The Rossoneri did really well to beat Napoli over two legs and thus secured their spot in the Champions League semi-finals, where they will face Inter. However, now they need to switch focus to the league to secure qualification for next season.
During his pre-match press conference, Stefano Pioli stated that he believes Milan can finish the season in a strong fashion. But he admitted that will need to do well in order to beat a Lecce side that put them in difficulty in the reverse fixture.
Game date: Sunday, April 23
Kick-off time: 18:00 (CEST)
Venue: San Siro
Referee: Chiffi (VAR: Marini)
Team news
Pioli will be able to rely on a strong squad for this one, though it should be mentioned that Davide Calabria is suspended and will miss out. Olivier Giroud and Tommaso Pobega will also sit on the sidelines due to injuries.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has recovered and will be included in the squad, but he might not feature at all. Simon Kjaer, Fikayo Tomori, Pierre Kalulu and Ante Rebic are all at risk of suspension (Roma next) and will need to be careful.
Kalulu will make his second consecutive start in the league, but this time he will play on the right. Malick Thiaw will be the one partnering up with Fikayo Tomori, therefore, after getting benched against Napoli.
There will also be two changes in the midfield, with Junior Messias replacing Ismael Bennacer and Brahim Diaz moving to the centre. Ante Rebic, who has found the back of the net just three times this season, will replace Giroud up front.
Pioli stated during today’s press conference that his players are in good condition ahead of the game, meaning the 1-1 draw against Napoli didn’t cause too many future issues for the Rossoneri.
Probable Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Kalulu, Thiaw, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Krunic, Tonali; Messias, Diaz, Leao; Rebic.
The opponents
Lecce had a rather good spell between November and February with just two losses and many wins. However, Marco Baroni’s men have since struggled big time in the league with a draw in seven games. As such, they are currently in 16th place.
In fact, they are just two points away from the final relegation spot and will thus be playing for their survival tomorrow, especially since Verona managed to beat Bologna yesterday. It remains to b seen if Spezia can be the more or less already-relegated Sampdoria, because then the pressure will really be on Lecce.
There are no significant absences to note for Lecce as they will have the likes of Umtiti, Hjulmand, Strefezza and Di Francesco available. On the other hand, Milan loanee Lorenzo Colombo has not been called up for the game (reasons unknown).
Probable Lecce XI (4-3-3): Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Umtiti, Gallo; Blin, Hjulmand, Oudin; Strefezza, Ceesay, Di Francesco.
Head to head
These two teams have faced each other 33 times in total in the league, with Milan winning 19 of them and losing just two. In short, the Rossoneri have a clear advantage as far as history goes.
In the reverse fixture, however, Milan struggled to contain Lecce and honestly could have lost that game. In the end, they managed to clinch a 2-2 draw but it should also be noted that this was during their slump at the start of the year.
Rafael Leao scored the first goal with a smart finish and Davide Calabria then provided attacking instinct in the box to make it 2-2. Defensively, the Rossoneri will be hoping to do a lot better tomorrow.
Match facts…
➤ Milan have only lost two of their 33 Serie A matches against Lecce (W19 D12), the last of which dates back 1 April 2006 – there have been five wins for the Rossoneri and four draws since.
➤ Lecce – 2-2 in the reverse fixture at Via del Mare stadium – are looking to remain unbeaten in both matches in a Serie A season against Milan for the first time since 1999-2000, when the sides drew 2-2 in both meetings.
➤ Lecce’s only victory in 16 previous Serie A matches away to Milan dates back to 19 October 1997; the Rossoneri have won 12 of these 16 matches (D3), but they drew last time (2-2 in October 2019).
➤ Milan have drawn their last two league matches played after a Champions League match, while they have drawn three of their last five Serie A matches (W1 L1), as many draws as they recorded in their previous 21 matches in the competition.
➤ Between March and April, Milan have won just six points in six league games; last season, in their first six league games played between March and April they won 14 points, thanks to four wins and two draws.
➤ Lecce drew against Sampdoria last time out, ending a run of six consecutive league defeats; away from home, however, the Giallorossi have lost their last three games, last losing more such matches in a row back in December 2010 in the top-flight (a run of six under De Canio).
➤ Milan are still one of the teams that makes the least use of set piece situations in Serie A this term: excluding penalties, they have scored only four goals from these situations, only more than Torino and Sampdoria (both 3).
➤ Lecce have kept the fewest clean sheets (3) of any side in Serie A this term, with the last of them coming against Cremonese in February. Despite this, they are the only team not to have conceded more than twice in a game this season.
➤ Among the midfielders who are making their debut season in Serie A, Morten Hjulmand of Lecce and Charles De Ketelaere of Milan are the two who have played the most games in the league this season without scoring: 28 appearances for the Giallorossi captain, 26 for the Belgian of Milan.
➤ Since Serie A returned to 20 teams (2004-05), only one foreign Lecce midfielder has managed to be involved in 10+ goals in a single Serie A campaign: Guillermo Giacomazzi (15 in 2004-05); Gabriel Strefezza (7 goals and 2 assists so far) can become the second one.
Ones to watch
Milan struggled on the flanks in the reverse fixture and thus it only makes sense to mention Pierre Kalulu. He needs to show his strength now that the competition at the back is fierce and starting on the right, it will be a different challenge.
Further up the pitch, Rade Krunic has been getting a lot of attention lately and rightfully so, having been a key player for Milan. His ability to read the game is impressive and he always makes sure his teammates are in the right place.
As for Lecce, Samuel Umtiti has done well at the back this season and he will be hoping for a strong performance in front of a wider audience. Given that he will be up against Rebic instead of Giroud, he might have an easier evening.
In addition to him, it’s impossible to not mention Gabriel Strefezza with the aforementioned stats in mind. The Brazilian will need to be contained otherwise Milan could find themselves in trouble tomorrow.
Prediction
The feeling is that Milan will be able to make use of their Champions League energy to bounce back the league this weekend. It surely will not be as hard as the reverse fixture, with 72k fans expected at San Siro to support them.
Colombo not called up…I wonder why…
what are you hinting at because colombo has done pretty well for lecce this season ? he has played a combined 27 matches over all competions scoring 5 and assisting 2 over 1331 combined minutes which equals to 14.78 full matches played.
That shows he has has pretty much contributed with either a goal or an assist in every second match at a rate of 2.11, thats pretty impressive for a club like lecce and even more so when considering his young age.
He is sick (flu), so he won’t come to play.
He is their best forward this season, he scored 4 goals and 2 assist (serie A) and 1 goal (Coppa).
Their top scorer (Strefezza) is a winger with 7 goals and 2 assists.
Where did you read that he’s sick? The article clearly says reasons unknown.