Without a win in the first two matches of the new Serie A season, AC Milan are in desperate need of a positive result as they hit the road to take on Lazio at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on Saturday.
It's taken time for Milan to find their footing under new manager Paulo Fonseca, who has instituted a new tactical setup to the squad in the wake of Stefano Pioli's departure. Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao seem to be building a strong partnership, as they linked up last weekend for a goal, but it came in an otherwise embarrassing 2-1 defeat to newly promoted Parma.
The loss leaves Milan with just one point from its first two matches, both against inferior opponents, putting themselves in a huge early hole for the top four chase.
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Lazio, meanwhile, are in a somewhat similar but slightly less dire situation. After starting strong with a 3-1 win over newly-promoted Venezia at home, they suffered a setback on the road at Udinese in a 2-1 defeat last time out.
Lazio vs. AC Milan live stream, TV channel in UK
- Date: Saturday, August 31, 2024
- Time: 7:45 p.m. BST
- TV channel: TNT Sports 1
- Streaming: discovery+
The road match for AC Milan against Lazio in the Italian capital will be televised in the UK on TNT Sports 1, with streaming on discovery+.
Fans of Italy's top flight can watch matches of the 2024/25 season in one place on discovery+.
What time is Lazio vs. AC Milan kickoff in UK?
This Serie A match kicks off from Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 8:45 p.m. local time in Rome, Italy.
In the UK, the match will kick off at 7:45 p.m. BST, one hour behind the rest of central Europe.
MORE: How to watch Serie A all season long across the 2024/25 campaign
Lazio vs. AC Milan lineups & team news
Lazio have a few players with fitness concerns at the early portion of the 2024/25 season. Most notably, first-choice defender Mario Gila is sidelined with a hamstring injury, but is expected back shortly. To make matters worse at the back, fellow centre-back Nico Casale left at halftime of the Udinese loss with a calf injury.
Juventus loanee Luca Pellegrini is another whose status is unclear after a car accident left him with a leg injury which the club has indicated is minor.
Lazio projected starting lineup (4-3-3): Provedel (GK) — Lazzari, Patric, Romagnoli, Marusic — Guendouzi, Vecino, Dele-Bashiru — Noslin, Castellanos, Zaccagni.
American star Christian Pulisic seems to be a key figure in Paulo Fonseca's approach and will be a locked-in starter until further notice. The biggest question is where he'll play, having initially been deployed at the No. 10 in the opener to mixed results, before being moved to the right wing for the Parma game where he scored his club's only goal.
New striker Alvaro Morata is sidelined until after the international break due to a calf injury, leading Noah Okafor to start up front.
AC Milan projected starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Maignan (GK) — Calabria, Tomori, Pavlovic, T. Hernandez — Musah, Reijnders — Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao — Okafor.
Lazio vs. AC Milan prediction
- Score prediction: Lazio 1-1 AC Milan
The biggest question for this match is whether AC Milan's attack can take advantage of a weak and depleted Lazio defence, or if their struggles will present larger problems than just a short-term slump.
At this point, it's hard to know which will happen, so the two things cancelling out seems appropriate. Lazio are traditionally much better at home than on the road, but Milan have also underperformed to this point and should improve as the season rolls along.