AC Milan are back in domestic action after their midweek European foray as they welcome Atalanta to San Siro on Sunday.

Milan badly needed a win against RB Salzburg on Thursday and it came in convincing fashion to get the Europa League campaign up and running in round two. Now, they return to home comforts to take on an Atalanta side that have had a mixed start to the campaign.

Head coach Ruben Amorim chose to avoid taking a press conference this weekend, instead preferring to take another training session. This could become a theme this month too, with the Portuguese preferring to show that actions speak louder than words.

Game date: Sunday, October 18
Kick-off time: 18:00 (CEST)
Venue: San Siro
Referee: Daniele Chiffi (VAR: Camplone)

Team news

As mentioned, Milan found some joy in their continental trip to Salzburg as they ran out 4-0 winners at the Red Bull Arena. The star of the show was without doubt Alphadjo Cisse, who completed a hat-trick inside 50 minutes before Goncalo Ramos added some late gloss to the scoreline.

The build-up to the game had been dominated in many ways by quite negative press regarding the levels of performance shown from Amorim side, so it provides some much-needed oxygen to despatch so confidently a team that had not lost in 15 games prior.

Back to Serie A action, which provides its own pitfalls. Several players made a case for starting against Atalanta with their performances, including Davide Bartesaghi, Ardon Jashari, Omari Hutchinson and of course the star of the show Cisse.

In terms of absences, it remains the case that Matteo could be out for three or four months after he suffered a muscle and tendon injury in the Sassuolo draw. Alexis Saelemaekers underwent ankle surgery and is expected to miss up to six months. Pietro Terracciano is a doubt with a shoulder issue.

Amorim keeps stating time and time again that he does not believe that it is important whether his side lines up with a three or four-man defence, but it continues to generate great intrigue within the Italian media. Once again, we are left guessing a bit heading into this one.

The latest suggestions are that the defence will return to full strength, with Mario Gila stepping back in for Fikayo Tomori on the right of the back three. Koni De Winter and Strahinja Pavlovic remain central to Amorim and Mike Maignan, of course, starts in goal.

In the midfield, there will be four changes, with Samuel Chukwueze and Diego Moreira coming back into the starting XI. Then, Luka Modric and Yunus Musah are expected to be named as starters once again.

Adrien Rabiot has not been dropped, though, and he’ll play on the right of the front three. Alphadjo Cisse is undroppable after his hat-trick in midweek and Goncalo Ramos returns as a starter.

Predicted Milan XI (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Gila, De Winter, Pavlovic; Chukwueze, Musah, Modric, Moreira; Rabiot, Cisse; Ramos.

Predicted bench: Bouyer, Torriani, Tomori, Diawara, F. Terracciano, Estupinan, Bartesaghi, Jashari, Comotto, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Hutchinson, Camarda.

Injuries & suspensions: Terracciano, Saelemaekers, Gabbia.

The opponents

Atalanta made the decision to go in a new direction after a turbulent 2025-26 season that saw them finish seventh, with Raffaele Palladino taking over from Ivan Juric in November. Palladino was replaced by Maurizio Sarri, who had been out of work since his last role with Lazio.

What followed in terms of business was an uncharacteristically quiet summer for the Bergamo club, who usually get comfortably into double figures when it comes to both arrivals and departures.

The only permanent signing for a fee was Gianluca Gaetano from Cagliari for €12m. Jonathan Rowe, Thomas Kristensen and Eljif Elmas signed on initial loan deals, while Frank Kessie rejoined the Nerazzurri on a free transfer from Al-Ahli.

The money received massively outweighed the amount spent, with €57m coming from Marco Palestra’s sale to Chelsea. Marco Brescianini joined Fiorentina for €10m, while Daniel Maldini, El Bilal Toure, Honest Athanor, Ibrahim Sulemana and Bed Godfrey went out on loan.

Atalanta sit 10th in Serie A, and their record of three wins and three defeats from six games tells its own story. The wins came against Sassuolo, Bologna and Venezia while the defeats came to Roma, early-season surprise package Cagliari and Juventus.

Their European campaign begun on Thursday night with a home Conference League game against Pafos which they won 3-1. All three goals came in the first half from Elmas, Giacomo Raspadori (pen) and Gianluca Scamacca, but the injury crisis worsened.

Raspadori became the latest player to enter the treatment room, and he is a doubt for this one along with Bellanova and Sulemana. Hien, Kossounou and Pompei are all out. Sarri will also be without Scalvini and Kessie, giving him headaches across the park.

The injury issues aren’t evident in defence; Carnesecchi will start in goal, with Zappacosta, Kristensen, Kolasinac and young Bernasconi making up the back four.

In midfield, Gaetano will start alongside Ederson, with former Milan target Lazar Samardzic ahead of them. Then, Rowe and De Ketelaere start alongside Krstovic in attack.

Predicted Atalanta XI (4-2-3-1): Carnesecchi; Zappacosta, Kristensen, Kolasinac, Bernasconi; Gaetano, Ederson; De Ketelaere, Samardzic, Rowe; Krstovic.

Injuries & suspensions: Elmas, Kessie, Scalvini, Sulemana, Kossounou, Pompei, Hien, Raspadori.

Head to head

Sunday’s encounter will be the 151st between Milan and Atalanta. The Rossoneri have 69 wins, 49 draws and 32 defeats so they dominate the fixture overall, but recent years have not been kind. In fact, the Diavolo have not beaten La Dea since February 2023.

In the first game last season, Milan took the lead early on through Samuele Ricci, who found the back of the net with a deflected shot. Atalanta equalised through Lookman before the end of the first half, and in the second, both teams had chances to score but failed to do so.

The reverse fixture at San Siro confirmed that Milan were in free-fall. Atalanta led 3-0 through Ederson, Davide Zappacosta and Giacomo Raspadori. Only late goals from Pavlovic and Christopher Nkunku made it a respectable scoreline.

Key stats and facts

➤ Away from home, Atalanta are coming off two consecutive matches without a win.

➤ Away from home, Atalanta are coming off two consecutive defeats.

➤ Atalanta are coming off five consecutive matches conceding goals.

➤ Atalanta are coming off two consecutive matches without defeat.

➤ Atalanta are coming off two consecutive wins.

➤ AC Milan currently have one defeat in their last eight matches.

➤ AC Milan are coming off three consecutive matches scoring goals.

➤ AC Milan are coming off three consecutive matches without defeat.

➤ Maurizio Sarri has faced AC Milan on 22 occasions, recording eight wins, six draws and eight defeats

➤ Ruben Amorim has faced Atalanta on four occasions, recording two draws and two defeats

Ones to watch

After Ardon Jashari’s performance in midweek, Yunus Musah’s game will be one to watch. The American has been the go-to for Ruben Amorim, but the Swiss’ performance may give him something to rethink.

Goncalo Ramos’ performance will also be watched keenly; he ended his drought midweek, but he needs to find the net consistently to prove why he was worth the €73 million. A goal at San Siro is a must…

Charles De Ketelaere always seems to have a say when these sides meet, so the Belgian must be watched carefully by the Rossoneri’s left side. If they don’t give him the respect he deserves, he could punish them again.

Another in the midfield battle, Ederson could be a player of interest. The Brazilian was heavily linked with a move away and with the Diavolo likely to lose their midfield star next summer, he could be watched for mercato purposes.

Prediction

Considering the issues that Atalanta have with absences, Milan must grab a vital three points here at San Siro. If you’d have offered most people seven points from nine available after the international break, they’d have taken it without question.