AC Milan return to San Siro on Sunday, looking to get their first win in Serie A since the international break against Atalanta.

The draw with Sassuolo was somewhat excusable; Milan had a long international break with plenty of players representing their nations. However, they also suffered a huge setback in training with Alexis Saelemaekers’ injury.

A win in midweek – and a dominant one at that – against Salzburg has brought a lot of optimism into this game, with Ruben Amorim’s side seemingly ticking already. It must continue against the Nerazzurri, though.

Opposition insight on Atalanta

➤ Manager: Maurizio Sarri
➤ Form (all comps): L-L-L-W-W (most recent)
➤ Top scorer (all comps): Krstovic – 4
➤ Most assists (all comps): Zalewski, Krstovic, De Ketelaere, Gaetano and Elmas – 1
➤ Injuries & suspensions: Elmas, Kessie, Scalvini, Sulemana, Kossounou, Pompei, Hien, Raspadori.

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 began 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.