Preview:Parma vs AC Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to seize top spot in Serie A - for one day at least - AC Milan will play struggling Parma on Saturday night.

While Napoli, Roma and Inter Milan prepare for games on Sunday, the Rossoneri can claim the summit with victory at Stadio Tardini.

Match preview

Having followed up two frustrating draws with a high-profile win last weekend, Milan kept themselves within one point of league leaders Napoli after 10 matches.

Two moments of magic decided a tense clash with Roma in their favour: Rafael Leao's incredible run set up Strahinja Pavlovic to score shortly before half time, and captain Mike Maignan later became the first goalkeeper to stop Paulo Dybala scoring a penalty since 2021.

The Rossoneri are now 10 games unbeaten across all competitions and they occupy fourth place in Serie A, sitting on the shoulder of three clubs who have continental commitments.

Ever the pragmatist, Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri still insists it is too early to talk about fighting for the Scudetto, but his team are certainly in contention.

Straight after the international break, a highly anticipated Derby della Madonnina against Inter will fully test their title credentials, but Allegri's men must first take care of business in Parma.

History is certainly on their side, having won seven of the teams last 10 top-flight meetings while losing only once.

Parma's sole success during that time came at the start of last season, when they edged a close encounter at the Tardini 2-1.

A couple of coaching changes later, the Gialloblu are currently sitting just above the drop zone under new boss Carlos Cuesta, who is experiencing his first year of senior management.

Last time out, Cuesta's side were beaten in the Derby dell'Emilia by Bologna, despite taking the lead within one minute; however, Christian Ordonez was subsequently sent off, allowing their local rivals to fight back for a 3-1 win.

As a result, the Crociati still have just seven points on the board, which represents their worst tally at this stage of a Serie A season for 11 years.

There is no secret regarding their main struggle: putting the ball in the net. So far, Parma have only scored five goals - the fewest of any team across Europe's top five leagues.

Parma Serie A form:

W L D D L L

AC Milan Serie A form:

W D W D D W

Team News

An integral part of Milan's attack over the past couple of campaigns, Christian Pulisic will return to action this week, and the USA international can aim to start alongside Rafael Leao.

Back to somewhere near his best, the latter has recorded four goal involvements across his last four league games, so Pulisic will vie with Christopher Nkunku to partner the Portuguese maverick; Santiago Gimenez is still unavailable.

Elsewhere, Fikayo Tomori should be ready to play after overcoming a knee injury, so only Adrien Rabiot is set to join Gimenez on the sidelines.

By contrast, Parma's absence list could be lengthy: centre-back Alessandro Circati and midfielder Nahuel Estevez both sustained injuries last week, and several men were already out of action.

Matija Frigan, Gaetano Oristanio - plus Swedish wingers Pontus Almqvist and Jacob Ondrejka - are all set to miss out; meanwhile, Ordonez must serve a suspension.

Part of the hosts' misfiring front line, Patrick Cutrone's first 63 Serie A appearances - and 13 goals - were with Milan several years ago; he often partners Mateo Pellegrino up front.

Parma possible starting lineup:

Suzuki; Delprato, Valenti, Ndiaye, Britschgi; Bernabe, Keita, Sorensen, Benedyczak; Pellegrino, Cutrone

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Ricci, Estupinan; Nkunku, Leao