Days after a crucial win in Europe, AC Milan return to domestic duty on Saturday afternoon, when they visit Lecce at Stadio Via del Mare.

While Milan started sluggishly in the Champions League and have recently faltered in Serie A, their midweek success against Paris Saint-Germain will erase memories of a four-match winless streak; their hosts, meanwhile, have not won since September.

Match preview

After a 3-0 defeat two weeks earlier in France - and following five Champions League games without scoring a single goal - seven-time European champions Milan flipped the script entirely on Tuesday night, as they beat Paris Saint-Germain at San Siro to keep hopes of progressing from Group H alive.

Thanks to strikes from Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud, the Rossoneri are now within a point of the top two in this year's 'Group of Death', and crucial clashes with Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United await after the international break.

Milan have, however, slipped six points off the pace of arch-rivals Inter at the Serie A summit after a dismal fortnight featuring three losses and one draw in all competitions.

Having narrowly lost out to Juventus with 10 men, Stefano Pioli's side then let a two-goal lead slip to draw with reigning champions Napoli, before suffering a shock home loss against winless Udinese last week.

Two defeats from their last three league games is as many as in the previous 19, which brought no less than 13 victories, so Pioli will be keen to use momentum from his team's Champions League success as fuel for a domestic revival.

As Milan have lost only one of their last 23 Serie A matches against Saturday's hosts - and that lone loss came back in April 2006 - anything less than maximum points this weekend would cast doubt over their status as serious Scudetto contenders.

For all their many failures to beat Milan either home or away in the Italian top flight, Lecce have actually lost just three of their last 12 meetings with the second-city giants down at Stadio Via del Mare.

Current coach Roberto D'Aversa will hope that bodes well for the Salento side on Saturday afternoon, as they have hit the buffers following an excellent start to the 2023-24 campaign and are slowly sliding down the Serie A standings.

Lecce dropped to 13th following a painful reverse against Roma last time out, and after racking up 11 points from their opening five matches they have taken only two from the next six.

Shortly after exiting the Coppa Italia to Serie B leaders Parma, when they were beaten 4-2 after conceding twice during second-half stoppage time, the Salentini were on course for victory at Stadio Olimpico last Sunday, after Wladimiro Falcone saved Romelu Lukaku's early penalty and Pontus Almqvist then put them ahead in the 72nd minute.

However, they shipped two more goals during added time to lose 2-1 to their fellow Giallorossi, with Lukaku producing the fatal dagger-blow - and now another tough test lies in store this weekend.

Team News

While Stefano Pioli may keep changes to a minimum for Milan's final fixture before the international break, first-choice forward Christian Pulisic is likely to miss Saturday's game, having sat out the loss to Udinese and then been forced off in the final minutes against PSG.

Both Pulisic and veteran defender Simon Kjaer are struggling with muscular problems, so Samu Chukweueze should replace the former in attack.

The Nigerian striker would join Rafael Leao as part of the Rossoneri's front three at Via del Mare, and the latter has scored more goals against Lecce than any other Serie A side: four in four matches, including a brace back in April.

In addition to Kjaer, Marco Pellegrino and Pierre Kalulu are unavailable - narrowing Pioli's defensive options somewhat - and back-up goalkeeper Marco Sportiello also remains sidelined.

Lecce, meanwhile, are set to be without last week's goalscorer, as Swedish winger Pontus Almqvist has picked up a thigh injury; centre-back Kastriot Dermarku is back in action after a long layoff, though, and should take a place on the bench.

In Almqvist's likely absence, Gabriel Strefezza and Lameck Banda are favourites to start in support of centre-forward Nikola Krstovic, but Nicola Sansone - who has scored five league goals against Milan in the past - is also a contender.

Recently linked with a switch to Milan's city rivals Inter during the next transfer window, Ylber Ramadani runs the Salentini's three-man midfield.

Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Pongracic, Gallo; Kaba, Ramadani, Rafia; Strefezza, Krstovic, Banda

AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez; Krunic, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Giroud

We say: Lecce 1-2 AC Milan

Lecce's downward spiral could continue this weekend, as Milan are on a high from their Champions League heroics and have a point to prove in Serie A. While the hosts are far harder to beat on home soil, they rarely score more than once and will also be vulnerable to the Rossoneri's varied attack.


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