AC Milan take on the visitors Lecce in the round of 1/16-finals of Coppa Italia. The match will be played on Tuesday, September 23rd at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) (Milan).
Milan enjoyed excellent results under Pioli, including a Scudetto triumph. But in 2024, the board parted ways with him, betting on Portuguese managers — first Paulo Fonseca, then Sérgio Conceição. The latter at least managed to win the Supercoppa, but overall the season was a disaster: a fall from 2nd to 8th place in Serie A and an early Champions League exit in the knockout stage. The Coppa Italia could have salvaged some pride, but after beating Inter in the semifinal, they fell to Bologna in the decisive final. Allegri then returned to the helm, having once been successful here. However, this time his second spell began with a shock home defeat to newly promoted Cremonese in the opening round. They bounced back with a 2-0 win over Lecce, followed by clean-sheet victories over Bologna (1-0) and Udinese (3-0) in September. Milan’s defense has looked much more disciplined compared to last season, while Rafael Leão has been central to their attacking play. Still, questions remain about their consistency, as early slip-ups suggest they are far from peak form.
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Lecce are unlikely to set goals beyond simple survival. The Giallorossi are no strangers to Serie A, having spent nearly two decades here since debuting back in the mid-80s. Since their latest promotion in 2022, they’ve consistently earned just enough points to secure another year at the top level. In 2024/25, they collected only 34 points, yet even that was sufficient for a relatively safe 17th-place finish. This summer, Eusebio Di Francesco was appointed as head coach. He began with a 2-0 Coppa Italia win over modest Juve Stabia, but in Serie A his side struggled: a goalless draw with Genoa, a 0-2 defeat to Milan, and after the break, a heavy 1-4 loss to Atalanta. Against Cagliari, things didn’t improve much, as they fell 1-2. Lecce’s attack looks blunt, with few creative sparks in the final third, and defensively they remain shaky against stronger opponents. If Di Francesco doesn’t find solutions quickly, another relegation battle seems inevitable.
In August, the Rossoneri earned their fourth consecutive win over this opponent. The stronger side is playing at home. The bet here is on the Rossoneri to win with a “-1 goal” handicap.
Prediction for the match: AC Milan to win with -1.0 handicap.
