LECCE v AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW

Europe is behind us, AC Milan are ready to dive straight back into the league for the last match before the last international break of the year. After Lecce, in fact, the season will continue without interruption until Spring: it's vital, therefore, that we return from Salento with all three points. The match is at an unusual but not unprecedented time - Saturday at 15:00 CET - and here is the Match Preview to introduce our Matchday 12 of Serie A. 

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
The victory over PSG has raised morale once again in the Rossoneri camp, and the desire to get back to winning ways is strong, being winless since 7 October. To achieve that, Pioli will be able to count on the team that overcame the French champions with the exception of Christian Pulisic, who will remain in Milan as a precaution after being taken off following a heavy challenge in the final minutes of the European match. Replacing the Rossonero number 11 will be Samuel Chukwueze, in an AC Milan that could line up with the same 4-2-3-1 that we saw in the Champions League, with Loftus-Cheek playing higher up the pitch. Regarding the rest of the line-up, the only question will be who to partner Reijnders in midfield, Musah or Krunić. Otherwise, lots of availability for the Rossoneri who have no suspensions or cautions.

LATEST FROM LECCE
After an excellent start to the season with 11 points from their first five matches, Lecce have only managed two draws and four defeats in their last six matches, and haven't won at home since the 1-0 victory over Genoa on 22 September. Lecce are coming off a crushing defeat at Roma, conceding two stoppage time goals after Almqvist initially took the lead for them. The Swedish forward is D'Aversa's most significant absence, as a result of a thigh injury that will keep him on the sidelines for the next few matches. Strefezza is likely to take his place, completing a front three with Krstović and Banda in a 4-3-3. The fullback spots are up for grabs in that formation (Gendrey and Dorgu favourites over Venuti and Gallo respectively) whilst Kaba is preferred to Blin in the right-midfield spot, next to Ramadani and Rafia. 

"We don't have any doubts: AC Milan are the team seen in the Champions League," said Roberto D'Aversa in the press conference. "We are facing a great team led by a great coach. We will have to go beyond our means, looking for a performance of 120% and playing with quality to avoid counters. We cannot concede in the first or last minutes, AC Milan is a club used to winning." 

PRE-MATCH STATS

• AC Milan are unbeaten in 22 of the 23 matches played against Lecce in Serie A (and have scored in 21 of the last 22), but they have only been victorious in three of the last 12 matches at the Via del Mare (8 draws and one loss). 
• The Rossoneri are unbeaten in nine of their last ten league matches played after a Champions League fixture (6 victories, 3 draws) and have scored as many as 11 goals in the first half in Serie A: only Fiorentina have more, with 12. 
• AC Milan, one of three teams to have still not conceded a header yet, face one of the two teams to have conceded the most, Lecce with five. The Rossoneri and Giallorossi have both only conceded one goal in the first quarter of an hour of play in the league this season. 
• Lecce are Rafael Leão's favourite team to face in Serie A (four goals in as many games); the Portuguese has contributed to 19 Rossoneri goals in 2023, as many as Olivier Giroud, who could cross the 100-appearance milestone with AC Milan at the Via del Mare. 

WHERE TO WATCH LECCE v AC MILAN
In Italy, the match will be broadcast on DAZN at 15:00 CET. To watch Lecce vs. AC Milan in a different country, you can consult the abroad section on "Where to watch AC Milan on TV". On the Rossoneri channels, Milan TV will provide live matchday coverage starting from 14:00 CET and continuing up until shortly before kick-off. After full-time, there will be interviews and Coach Pioli's press conference. From 14:55 CET, there will also be our Live Reaction show on our Twitch channel. Also, not to be missed is the coverage on acmilan.com, the AC Milan Official App and our official social media profiles.

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Rosario Abisso, from Palermo, will be refereeing the match at the Via del Mare. This will be the Sicilian's first match refereeing either of the two teams this season. He has officiated 9 previous AC Milan matches, which have resulted in 6 victories, 1 draw and 2 defeats, one of which came last season (Torino 2-1 AC Milan on 30 October 2022). Alongside Abisso, the linesmen Mokhtar and Peretti, fourth official, Rapuano and VAR Guida (Nasca as AVAR). 

Matchday 12 started yesterday, Friday 10 November, with Sassuolo 2-2 Salernitana and Genoa 1-0 Hellas Verona. As well as Lecce v AC Milan on Saturday 11, Juventus face Cagliari (18:00 CET) and Monza host Torino (20:45 CET). The round finishes on Sunday 12 with Napoli v Empoli (12:30 CET), Fiorentina v Bologna (15:00 CET), Udinese v Atalanta (15:00 CET), Lazio v Roma (18:00 CET) e Inter v Frosinone (20:45 CET).

Here are the current standings: Inter 28; Juventus 26; AC Milan 22; Napoli 21; Atalanta 19; Bologna 18; Roma and Fiorentina 17; Monza and Lazio 16; Frosinone and Torino 15; Genoa* 14; Lecce 13; Sassuolo* 12; Udinese 10; Cagliari 9; Hellas Verona* 8; Empoli 7; Salernitana* 5. (* = one more match played)

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