AC Milan will host Como in the continuation of Serie A at the San Siro Stadium, Wednesday night, February 18 local time or Thursday morning WIB. This match had previously shocked the Italian football public because it was planned to be held in Perth, Australia.
Lega Serie A's plan to hold this match outside Italy was a long debate. San Siro was scheduled to host the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, so the idea of moving the match to Australia emerged. However, after negotiating and facing various administrative obstacles, this duel was finally held in Milan, albeit with a rescheduling.
Now he is focusing entirely on the field. AC Milan enters this match with the status of second place in the Serie A standings, eight points behind the city rival and leader of the standings, Inter Milan, but still has one more match.
Massimiliano Allegri's team has been very consistent since the start of the season. After surprisingly losing to Cremonese in the opening week, the Rossoneri are unbeaten in the next 23 league matches. This record is the longest unbeaten record still active in the five top European leagues today.
Since August, Milan's only defeat has been in the knockout phase, when facing Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana and being eliminated from the Coppa Italia by Lazio. In the league, their performance is stable and effective, keeping the title race open.
In the last match, Milan narrowly won over Pisa who were struggling in the bottom zone of the standings. Luka Modric scored the winning goal in the final minutes before Adrien Rabiot received a red card in injury time. As a result of the card, Rabiot is confirmed to be absent against Como.
Allegri now has to make adjustments in the midfield. The good news is that Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao have returned to the bench in the previous match. In addition, Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Fullkrug are also competing to fill the attack line, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been operating more offensively in recent weeks.
On the other hand, Como comes with big ambitions. The club, now coached by Cesc Fabregas, has continued to grow since promotion to Serie A in 2024. Despite losing the last three meetings against Milan, including a 1-3 defeat at the Stadio Sinigaglia last month, Como showed significant improvement.
In that last meeting, Rabiot scored two goals for Milan, while Fabregas openly criticized Allegri's tactical approach. The tension is sure to add spice to this duel.
In the standings, Como is still competing at the top and has ambitions to break into the European zone. They are currently in seventh place and are only a small distance from the teams above them. Their away form is also worth considering, with only three defeats in 11 away games and conceding only nine goals.
However, Como also faces obstacles. Alvaro Morata must be absent due to a red card in the previous match. Meanwhile, Tasos Douvikas and Nico Paz remain the main focus in the front line, both of whom have scored eight goals in Serie A this season.
Predicted Starting XI:
AC Milan (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Athekame, Fofana, Modric, Loftus-Cheek, Bartesaghi; Pulisic, Nkunku.
Como (4-2-3-1): Butez; Smolcic, Ramon, Kempf, Valle; Perrone, Da Cunha; Vojvoda, Paz, Baturina; Douvikas.
Prediction Score:
AC Milan 2-2 Como.
Milan indeed needs a victory to continue to pressure Inter in the title race, but Como has quality and a solid away record to steal points at the San Siro. This duel is predicted to be tight with high intensity until the last minute.
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