AC Milan will play their first away Serie A game of 2025 on Tuesday evening as they make the short trip up the road to face Como.
Milan returned from Saudi Arabia with the Supercoppa Italiana in their back pockets and displayed it before the game against Cagliari, but the edge was taken off the celebrations as they were held to a draw.
Given the quest to get into the Champions League places, it is imperative that Sergio Conceicao’s side do not drop points against teams at the bottom end of the table, and he was understandably frustrated after Saturday’s match.
Game date: Tuesday, January 14
Kick-off time: 18:30 (CET)
Venue: Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia
Referee: Gianluca Mangianello (VAR: Serra)
Team news
As mentioned, Milan will once again be called upon for a response after yet another disappointing league result. Building a run of wins has been their kryptonite so far in 2024-25, and Conceicao will look to fix some of the consistency issues.
What made the result against the Sardinians even more frustrating was that Lazio dropped points (against Como, ironically) and Juventus were held to a draw in the derby with Torino, so Milan squandered a big chance to close the gap.
However, in the midweek round of games the Bianconeri travel to face Atalanta while Inter host Bologna (who are still above the Rossoneri). At the weekend, Milan make the trip to face their fierce rivals Juve away from home.
In terms of injury news, Alessandro Florenzi is still recovering from an operation and Samuel Chukwueze is likely to be out for a few more weeks yet after a quite serious muscle injury during the draw with Roma to close 2024.
Conceicao announced prior to the Cagliari fixture that Ruben Loftus-Cheek has suffered a relapse of the flexor problem that has troubled him this season. He will be re-evaluated in a few days, but could miss a few games as a result.
Emerson Royal was forced to miss the Cagliari contest after serving a ban, which means that he will return to contention. Alvaro Morata – who scored in Saturday’s draw – and Youssouf Fofana are one yellow card away from a one-match ban.
It seems that the starting XI will remain quite untouched against Como, starting with Mike Maignan in goal. Emerson is expected to return at right-back after missing the game against Cagliari through suspension. Malick Thiaw and Fikayo Tomori are expected in the centre again, but Matteo Gabbia is pushing for a start.
In midfield, Conceicao is considering a flat midfield three, consisting of Yunus Musah, Tijjani Reijnders and Youssouf Fofana, but Ismael Bennacer could be given an opportunity to start, so that will go right to the wire.
Leading the line should be Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao and Alvaro Morata, but the latter could be changed for Tammy Abraham, or even Francesco Camarda, perhaps.
Predicted Milan XI (4-3-3): Maignan, Emerson, Thiaw, Tomori, Theo; Musah, Fofana, Reijnders; Pulisic, Morata, Leao.
The opponents
A lot has changed at Como in recent years with the SENT Entertainment ownership group, and last season they were promoted back to Serie A after a 21-year absence by finishing second in Serie B.
Osian Roberts was officially the head coach while Cesc Fabregas did his coaching badges, but the Spaniard was the one calling the shots and was eventually appointed in his place.
A number of summer signings arrived to help the cause, with Alberto Dossena and Yannik Engelhardt arriving for €8m each, plus Nico Paz and Emil Audero for €6m. Gabriel Strefezza and Alieu Fadera joined for €5m.
Other notable additions include Raphael Varane, Sergi Roberto and Alberto Moreno on free transfers, plus Andrea Belotti from AS Roma. Adrian Semper and Cas Odenthal were the only sales, for a combined €3.7m.
Como have found it tough in their return to the top flight, with four wins from 19 games, plus seven draws and eight defeats. They have scored 21 goals and let in 31, sitting just one point above the drop zone at present.
They have had some impressive results, such as beating Roma 2-0 at home and even emerging 3-2 victors away against Atalanta back in September in what was an early statement of intent, or so many thought.
Perhaps because of their risky position, the Lombardy club have decided to spend close to €30m in January already. Maxence Caqueret has just signed from Lyon and Assane Diao from Real Betis for €27m.
In terms of selection issues for Fabregas to deal with, Sergi Roberto, Federico Barba, Marco Sala and Daniele Baselli are all listed as doubts, as is their star playmaker Nico Paz who has been a revelation since joining from Real Madrid.
Cesc Fabregas is expected not to experiment against Milan, especially the aforementioned issues within his squad. For this reason, an almost full-strength backline is expected to remain unchanged. Butez will start in goal, with Van de Brempt, Dossena, and Kempf being consistent in the backline. With Alberto Moreno’s injury, Ben Kone could start at left-back.
Engelhardt and Cunha should remain as the midfield pivot, and there is a chance that the aforementioned Paz returns at the heart of Como’s attack. Either side of him should be Strefezza and Fadera with former Rossonero Cutrone expected to lead the line.
Predicted Como XI (4-2-3-1): Butez; Van de Brempt, Dossena, Kempf, Kone; Engelhardt, Cunha; Strefezza, Paz, Fadera; Cutrone.
Head to head
Of the teams that are currently in Serie A, Milan have only played against Monza less (16 times). The Rossoneri have faced Como in 32 competitive games, with 17 wins, 10 draws and five defeats, a win rate of 53.1%.
It was back in 1949-50 that the first contests took place, a 1-1 draw at San Siro followed by a 4-1 win for the Diavolo in the return game, in which Gunnar Nordahl scored a hat-trick.
The last two games came back in 2002-03, and it was a double for Milan over their neighbours from the region. Away from home, Massimo Ambrosini and Andriy Shevchenko scored in a 2-1 victory.
Back at San Siro, Pippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Nesta got on the scoresheet as Carlo Ancelotti’s men emerged 2-0 winners.
Key stats and facts
➤ Como and Milan face each other in Serie A for the first time since 3 May 2003, a gap of 21 years and 256 days: the Rossoneri won 2-0 at the Meazza, with goals from Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Nesta.
➤ Milan are unbeaten in their last 11 matches against Como in Serie A (W6, D5), winning the most recent two; the last success of the Como team against the Rossoneri in the top flight dates back to 13 January 1985 (2-0 at the Meazza, with Ottavio Bianchi as coach of the Biancoblü).
➤ Milan won their last away match against Como in Serie A (2-1 on 15 December 2002); the Rossoneri have never won two in a row away from home against Como in the top flight.
➤ Como have lost only one of their last six league matches (2W, 3D), after losing four times in the previous five (1D).
➤ Milan have drawn their last two league games (vs. Roma and Cagliari) and they could draw three consecutive games in Serie A for the first time since September 2018, under Gennaro Gattuso.
➤ Como have won their last two home league matches (against Roma and Lecce, both 2-0), the last time they achieved three home wins in a row in Serie A dates back to November 1984, under Ottavio Bianchi.
➤ AC Milan have recorded three wins, two draws and three defeats away from home in Serie A this season, with 12 goals scored and 12 goals conceded. In an away league table in Serie A 2024-25 the Rossoneri occupy ninth position in terms of average points (1.4).
➤ Four of Como’s last five goals in Serie A were scored after the 70th minute, after only two of Como’s first 16 goals in the current tournament had arrived in this time interval.
➤ Patrick Cutrone’s first 63 appearances, featuring 13 goals, in Serie A came with the Milan shirt
(including 10 goals in 2017-18, his best scoring season in the ‘top five’ European leagues). The 1998 born player has faced the Rossoneri in four Serie A matches without either scoring or assisting but earning a penalty against Fiorentina on 22 February 2020.
➤ Rafael Leão has been involved in five goals in his last five matches against newly promoted teams in Serie A (one goal and four assists), providing one assist in both matches against these teams in the current league season (against Parma in August and Venezia in September).
Ones to watch
With the reported interest in Kyle Walker, Emerson Royal has a job to prove himself as the man to continue at right-back. An investment like Walker will be hugely damaging to the Brazilian, so a good performance could help further offset rumours about a potential arrival.
After conceding a poor goal to Cagliari, and Matteo Gabbia still sitting on the bench, it can be argued that the central defensive partnership need to show they are right to operate together. Especially after calls for Gabbia’s return.
Nico Paz is an obvious one to watch for the hosts. The midfielder has shone for Como this season, and several of Europe’s elite are keeping an eye on him. If he is ready to play tomorrow evening, it is the Diavolo’s defence who must keep an eye on him.
How can we also not pinpoint Patrick Cutrone? Since leaving Milan, the striker has struggled fairly regularly, but he has found a role with Como. Hopefully, his struggles restart against the Rossoneri, but not further past it.
Prediction
Como have proved that they are a difficult side to play against; wins against Roma and Atalanta prove that. However, the Rossoneri have their own qualities, and they must show them with Conceicao needing to see improvement.
Como 1-2 AC Milan
