MIlan vs Udinese: Serie A Preview & Potential Line-ups

New Serie A season kicks off on Saturday as defending champions AC Milan take on oftentimes mid-table opposition Udinese in a curtain-raising fixture at San Siro.

Despite starting last season as only third-favourites to claim the Scudetto, Milan defied the odds in a stunning fashion to take home the first Serie A title since 2010/11. 

Inspired by MVP award winner Rafael Leao and household veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Stefano Pioli's men dethroned arch-rivals Inter Milan, courtesy of a slim two-point gap.

However, in order to win back-to-back Serie A trophies for the first time in the 21st century, the Rossoneri will have to defy the expectations again after a bit uneventful transfer window.

A lack of funds has seen Milan land the likes of Divock Origi and Charles De Ketelaere as the only marquee signings, with long-serving midfielder Franck Kessie leaving for Barcelona. 

That's still far better than Udinese. Tipped for another season-long fight in the bottom half of the table, the Friulians lost star defender Nahuel Molina to Atletico Madrid without finding a suitable replacement. 

On top of that, they cut interim boss Gabriele Cioffi loose to appoint Andrea Sottil as the new chief of staff despite the former's decent results down the final stretch of last season. 

Match Preview

AC Milan

Milan finished off the triumphant 2021/22 season on a high, putting together a stellar 16-game unbeaten league streak (W11, D5), including six wins in a row down the final stretch. 

Another victory is on the cards. Indeed, the Rossoneri are unbeaten in 14 of their last 15 Serie A meetings with Udinese at home (W8, D6), netting 2.2 goals on average in that sequence. 

But there's no room for complacency as three of Milan's last four home league encounters against this opposition have yielded an identical 1-1 scoreline (W1).

Udinese

Former interim manager Cioffi turned a downtrodden side into legitimate top-half candidates, yet Udinese eventually had to settle for a 12th-place finish. 

Finding redemption on Sottil's debut won't be a simple task by any stretch of the imagination, with the Friulians going winless in five of their last six Serie A openers (D2, L3).

If you're looking for an omen, Udinese's solitary success in that six-season span came at the expense on non-other than Milan back in 2019/20. 

AC Milan vs Udinese Potential Line-ups

AC Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Simon Kjaer, Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Ismael Bennacer, Yacine Adli; Rafael Leao, Charles De Ketelaere, Junior Messias; Olivier Giroud.

Udinese (3-5-2): Marco Silverstri; Rodrigo Becao, Adam Masina, Bram Nuytinck; Brandon Soppy, Tolgay Arslan, Jean-Victor Makengo, Roberto Pereyra, Destiny Udogie; Gerard Deulofeu, Beto.