'I still don't know who will play' – Allegri facing selection headache

Massimiliano Allegri conceded he "doesn’t know who will play" ahead of AC Milan’s Serie A game with Lecce on Friday.

Milan endured a frustrating start to their Serie A campaign as they lost to Cremonese last time out.

They fired 24 shots – a total bettered only by Juventus on the opening weekend – yet left San Siro empty-handed.

Cremonese made the most of their limited chances, scoring twice from just three efforts on target, one of them a stunning strike by Federico Bonazzoli. Milan’s only reply came through a powerful Strahinja Pavlovic header, leaving Allegri’s men to reflect on wasted opportunities.

This summer brought a flurry of transfer activity and an early Coppa Italia victory over Bari. With Milan unbeaten in 14 matches against Lecce, including three straight wins, Allegri will be cautiously optimistic his side can continue in the same vein.

However, he is still unsure as to who will be in his starting XI come kick-off.

"We need to approach the game correctly and with great respect," Allegri said.

"They have great enthusiasm; they played a great match in Genoa. [Lecce coach, Eusebio] Di Francesco makes his teams play well. We need to get on par with the others and run like them. Then our technical qualities will emerge, and that’s where we need to improve.

"With work, we’ll focus more on defence. We’re working on it. We hope not to concede tomorrow, but the deficit of conceding too many goals can’t be overcome in a few weeks, but I’m sure we’ll overcome it.

"Against Cremonese, we created a lot and shot a lot. We conceded two crosses where we were well-positioned, but mistakes followed.

"We conceded two goals from the two mistakes we made in the ninety minutes. We need to lower our game, if not eliminate it entirely. I still don’t know who will play tomorrow."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Lecce - Tete Morente

Morente was a livewire during Lecce's opener away at Genoa last weekend, the winger recorded the most passes in the final third (20) of any player on the pitch, as well as taking on three shots in a game that was limited in chances. 

Having lost talisman Nikola Krstovic to Atalanta during the summer, Lecce will be hoping Morente's productivity can help soften the inevitable blow of his departure.

Milan - Luka Modric

Modric sealed a summer move to Milan from Real Madrid, having spent 13 years with Los Blancos, winning 28 major trophies at the club. The Croatian veteran, who scooped the 2018 Ballon d'Or, created three chances during his Serie A debut and registered the most passes in the final third (32), more than any other player. 

MATCH PREDICTION: MILAN WIN

Lecce have managed only one victory in 19 Serie A home fixtures against Milan (D10 L8), a 1-0 win in April 2006 under Roberto Rizzo thanks to a goal from Axel Konan.

Since that result, the sides have played seven times in Lecce with four draws and three Milan wins, and both teams have found the net in every encounter, producing an average of 4.1 goals per game.

Milan have won their last three league meetings with Lecce, and they now have the chance to record four consecutive victories against the Salento club for only the second time in their top-flight history. The previous run came between November 1989 and August 1993, when the Rossoneri recorded five successive wins.

Lecce have also drawn more matches against Milan in Serie A than against almost any other opponent.

Thirteen of the 38 league meetings between the clubs have ended level, with Lecce registering only two wins compared to 23 for Milan.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Lecce: 21.4%

Draw: 25.0%

Milan: 53.6%