Fresh from their dramatic Supercup triumph, AC Milan will host Cagliari at the Serie A opener on Saturday evening, aiming to continue an excellent start Sergio Conceicao‘s reign.

The Rossoneri twice recovered from a half-time deficit to win two difficult games and clinch the Supercoppa Italiana, while their Sardinian counterparts enjoyed a more modest success last time out.

Game preview

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A stunning comeback secured Milan their eighth Supercoppa trophy on Monday night, made all the sweeter as it came at the expense of their arch-rivals after they beat defending champions Inter Milan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Tammy AbrahamThe late winner completed the Rossoneri’s revival in a thrilling Derby della Madonnina, following earlier goals from Theo Hernandez And Christian Pulisic – and the introduction of an inspired song in the second half Rafael Leao proved vital.

Within a week of his appointment, new coach Sergio Conceicao has led Milan to victories over Juventus and their city rivals, securing the club’s first silverware since beating Inter in the 2022 Scudetto.

Leao has already spoken of a renewed spirit among his fellow Portuguese, who proudly declared he was not hired to be popular with his players before smashing a screen during his half-time speech against Juve.

With a former coach Paulo Fonseca As a coach, Milan have never been able to come back from behind once this season, but they have now managed to do so twice in a matter of days, reinforcing the belief that a top-four finish in Serie A is not yet for them is sufficient.

Before heading east last week, the Rossoneri were in eighth place after a 1-1 draw at home to Roma the top tablebut they still have at least one game left against most of their fellow challengers for Champions League qualification.

The last Milan coach to win his first three games was an all-time great player Arrigo Sacchiin August 1987, but Conceicao can join this club on Saturday when the second-biggest giants meet their favorite opponents.

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So far this century, Cagliari have met Milan 18 times in Serie A at the San Siro, losing no less than 17 times. During that time they have scored around 46 goals and only scored 11.

In fact, the Rossoblu are winless, home or away, in 13 league games between two very different clubs, following a thrilling 3-3 draw in Sardinia in November.

On this day, Nadir Zortea opened the scoring beforehand Gabriele Zappa proved an unlikely home hero by scoring a brilliant second-half brace and Zortea was also successful last weekend as Cagliari beat ten-man Monza 2-1.

With his fifth goal of the season Roberto Piccoli was the match winner against the bottom of the table and thus raised his team’s hopes of a second promotion of the season in a row.

After losing the last four games of 2024, this result was a huge relief for the head coach David Nicolawho is known as a survival specialist.

However, Cagliari last won back-to-back league games in March and their record at San Siro suggests reaching maximum points could be a tall order.

AC Milan Serie A form:

AC Milan form (all competitions):

Cagliari Serie A form:

Cagliari form (all competitions):

Team news

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After making a big impression on the bench in the Milan Super Cup final, Rafael Leao could be fit enough to make his first appearance for Sergio Conceicao this weekend.

Cagliari are one of Leao’s favorite opponents and have scored five league goals against them so far, including one in the two clubs’ last two games at San Siro.

Called back from the wild, Fikayo Tomori Now he seems to be the first choice as both a central defender and a goalkeeper Mike Maignan is the new captain of the Rossoneri.

Once again, Samuel Chukwueze, Ruben Loftus Cheek And Alessandro Florenzi are unavailable due to injury while Emerson Royal must serve a suspension.

Cagliari will travel north without any mercurial strikers Zito Luvumbo and Colombian defender Yerry Minaboth of whom are out due to ankle injuries.

Just completed a swap deal with Napoli Simone Scuffetgoalkeeper Elijah Caprile could make his debut between the posts.

Roberto Piccoli should be supported by both up front Nicolas Viola or Gianluca Gaetano. Piccoli scored a remarkable 18 goals against 18 different teams in the top flight, but he has yet to score against Milan in 387 minutes of play.

Possible AC Milan starting lineup:
Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Morata

Cagliari possible starting lineup:
Caprile; Zappa, Palomino, Luperto, Obert; Zortea, Adopo, Makoumbou, Augello; Viola; Piccoli

We say: AC Milan – Cagliari 3-0

Fueled by a fresh face in the dugout, Milan are primed to continue their dominance of this week’s visitors – even if they are far from flawless.

Almost half of the 32 league goals Cagliari have conceded this season have come from set pieces – a league high of 14 – so the hosts will certainly be paying particular attention to this glaring weakness.

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