Milan vs Lecce

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Seeking to solidify their hold on the runner-up position in Serie A, AC Milan will host struggling Lecce at San Siro on Saturday afternoon.

While Lecce is still battling for survival, Milan has secured victory in six consecutive matches and stands on the brink of achieving a seventh successive win for the first time since 2006.

After showcasing promising form leading up to the recent international break, Milan smoothly resumed their winning ways upon their return, clinching a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Stadio Franchi.

All three goals were netted in a flurry shortly after halftime, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek breaking the deadlock and Rafael Leao swiftly responding after Fiorentina had equalized - a sequence that ultimately ensured Milan claimed maximum points.

Across various competitions, Leao has been directly involved in more goals than any other player in Serie A in 2024 - finding the net seven times and providing six assists. Additionally, four members of Stefano Pioli's squad have now reached double-digit goal tallies for the season: Olivier Giroud (14), Christian Pulisic (12), Leao (11), and Loftus-Cheek (10).

This marks the first occasion since 2009 that so many players have reached the ten-goal mark or beyond for Milan, underscoring the team's considerable offensive prowess. Although securing the Scudetto seems increasingly likely for city rivals Inter Milan, who hold a commanding 14-point lead, Milan possesses ample firepower to secure second place ahead of Juventus.

Although Milan has scored fewer goals from open play than Inter in Serie A up to this point, Lecce has struggled even more in this regard, with Nikola Krstovic and Roberto Piccoli being their top scorers this season, netting five and four times respectively.

Nevertheless, Lecce's recent defensive improvements could be crucial for their survival in the top flight. Following a goalless draw against a resurgent Roma, they have managed to keep clean sheets in their last two matches.

After securing their first away win of the season against Salernitana just before the international break, Lecce continued their solid defensive display against Roma. Despite both teams missing opportunities to secure a victory, Lecce's defense held firm at Via del Mare.

Lecce now has the opportunity to achieve three consecutive Serie A clean sheets for the first time since 2004, potentially frustrating Milan in the process, which would greatly contribute to their goal of avoiding relegation.

With a record of 10 wins and just 2 losses from 14 Serie A games, Pioli's team has proven to be especially difficult to beat at San Siro this season. They will host Roma in the Europa League quarterfinals the following week. Before Saturday's match, they have gone nine games without a home loss.

Milan has won nine of their last ten league games against Lecce in Italy's second city, scoring 29 goals and conceding just six, so history is unquestionably on their side this weekend, even though they were held to a stalemate in the rematch in November.

Stefano Pioli will once again need to shuffle his team this upcoming weekend, as Ruben Loftus-Cheek received a yellow card during the previous victory over Fiorentina, leading to a one-match suspension for the talented English player.

Milan typically accrues an average of 2.2 points per game when Loftus-Cheek is on the field, a figure that dips to 1.5 in his absence. However, the influential left-back Theo Hernandez is now back from suspension and will take the place of Alessandro Florenzi on the left side.

Despite Pierre Kalulu's ongoing injury, the experienced defender Simon Kjaer is expected to be fit for selection. The defensive pairing is likely to consist of Fikayo Tomori and Malick Thiaw.

Rafael Leao, who has previously scored four league goals against Lecce, including a brace at San Siro last year, will be supporting Olivier Giroud in attack.

On the opposing side, the visiting team is dealing with long-term injuries to Kastriot Dermaku and Mohamed Kaba, but otherwise has a fully fit squad.

In their previous match, Nikola Krstovic and Roberto Piccoli formed the attacking duo. However, it's probable that one of them will be replaced at San Siro, with Lameck Banda, Remi Oudin, and Nicola Sansone vying for selection.

The latter has scored six league goals against Milan, with his most recent goal coming in November. Notably, only Enrico Chiesa has scored for more different clubs against Milan in Serie A history, with five.