Salernitana vs AC Milan

Defending Serie A champions AC Milan return to domestic action for the first time after the 2022 World Cup, taking a trip to the Stadio Arechi to meet mid-table Salernitana.

The World Cup break came at an opportune moment for Salernitana, as they were on an underwhelming there-match winless league streak (D1, L2). Much has changed in Salerno since the Qatar showpiece, with legendary Franck Ribery hanging up his boots and Salernitana adding another prominent name to the roster in the shape of Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Ochoa’s signing should help Salernitana’s fragile backline gain some stability after keeping only three clean sheets in the opening 15 Serie A matchdays. Conceding first has often presented the ‘Granata’ with an uphill task, as they’ve returned just one point from losing positions at home this season (D1, L2).

In the meantime, Milan’s hopes of winning back-to-back Serie A titles for the first time in the 21st century already look stretched as they head into proceedings trailing table-topping Napoli by eight points. Stefano Pioli’s men blew hot and cold before the mid-season break, alternating between winning (2) and not winning (D1, L1) across their last four league outings. Moreover, following an eye-catching three-match winning Serie A streak on the road, ‘I Rossoneri’ have gone winless on back-to-back league travels in the lead-up to this trip (D1, L1), including an underwhelming 0-0 draw at relegation-threatened Cremonese last time out. It gets worse for Milan, considering they’ve been victorious in only two of their four previous top-flight matches against the sides starting the round 10+ points behind them in the standings (D1, L1).