Salzburg vs Milan Preview: A Host Unbeaten Since May, a Visitor Who Keeps Drawing Away, and the Corner Problem Amorim Called Out
Milan’s European campaign needs a response and it has to happen in the one arena in Austria where visiting sides keep leaving empty-handed. Salzburg beat Levski Sofia 1-0 on the opening night, are unbeaten in fifteen matches since May and have won six in a row at home. Milan, meanwhile, lost their league-phase opener 2-0 to Benfica despite having more of the ball, and have drawn three straight away league games. Something on Thursday has to give.
Two Openers, Two Very Different Evenings
Salzburg went to Sofia on the opening night and left with the points, Haris Tabaković scoring just before half-time in a 1-0 win over Levski. A few days later they outplayed Sturm Graz 3-0 at home in the Austrian derby, and while last weekend’s goalless draw at Grazer AK stopped that mini-run, the wider picture is the one that should worry Milan: fifteen matches without defeat since May, six straight wins at Red Bull Arena, three or more goals scored in four of their last six games there and four clean sheets in the same stretch. Danny Röhl’s side sit second in the domestic table.
Milan’s opening night went the other way. Benfica came to San Siro and left 2-0 winners, despite Milan finishing with 61 percent of the ball, a 1.03-0.63 edge in expected goals and seventeen shots to eleven. Ruben Amorim’s side have not lost in Serie A — twelve points from six games, unbeaten in their opening six league matches for the first time since 2022-23 — but they have drawn three of those six, all of them away, which is why they sit fifth rather than higher. Saturday summed it up: Adrien Rabiot put them ahead at Sassuolo in the sixty-third minute, Cas Odenthal levelled from a corner five minutes later, and a late Sassuolo winner was ruled out after a foul in the build-up.
Head-to-Head: Only Two Meetings
| Date | Competition | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 2022 | UEFA Champions League, group E | Milan 4-0 Salzburg | Milan |
| 6 Sep 2022 | UEFA Champions League, group E | Salzburg 1-1 Milan | Draw |
These two have met only twice in competitive football, both in the 2022-23 Champions League group stage: a 1-1 draw in Salzburg and a 4-0 Milan win at San Siro. Milan are therefore unbeaten in the fixture, but the sample is small — so the more useful comparison is current form. Salzburg’s last five: 0-0 at Grazer AK, 3-0 vs Sturm Graz, 1-0 at Levski Sofia, 1-1 at Ried, 5-1 vs Rapid Wien. Milan’s last five: 1-1 at Sassuolo, 3-0 vs Lecce, 0-2 vs Benfica, 2-2 at Lazio, 1-1 at Juventus.
Three Things That Will Decide It
1. Milan’s set-piece problem meets Salzburg’s set-piece threat
After the Sassuolo draw, Amorim was blunt about the equaliser his side conceded: “what cannot happen is to concede that goal from the corner.” It was not an isolated lapse — Milan have now conceded three goals to opposition substitutes this season and have repeatedly let leads slip after set plays. Salzburg, for their part, have scored three or more in four of their last six home matches, and a back three missing Matteo Gabbia is exactly the kind of defence a physical home side targets.
2. Rabiot and Modrić against a young Salzburg pivot
Rabiot is Milan’s joint-top scorer this season with three goals, and his five league goal involvements are bettered only by Roma’s Donyell Malen. Modrić came on at half-time against Sassuolo and set up the opener within minutes, which makes his inclusion from the start here likely. Opposite them, Salzburg will ask Abubakr Barry and Bartosz Mazurek to break up that rhythm — a tall order against two of the most decorated midfielders of the last two decades.
3. The road-habit versus the home-habit
Milan have won just one of their four away games this season and drawn their last three on the road in the league. Salzburg have won six straight at Red Bull Arena. Away sides also face a fast turnaround — both clubs have league games three days later, so rotation is a live possibility, and Amorim has already signalled changes are coming.
Expected Line-ups
Neither club had confirmed a starting eleven at the time of writing. The names below follow the most widely reported projected sides; treat both as provisional and check the team sheets about an hour before kick-off. Reporting differs in a couple of positions, noted underneath.
RB Salzburg
- GK Christian Früchtl
- DF Leandro Morgalla, Kévin Boma, Tim Drexler, Dominik Schmid
- MF Bartosz Mazurek, Abubakr Barry
- AM Yorbe Vertessen, Sota Kitano, Edmund Baidoo
- ST Haris Tabaković — carrying a minor knock
Doubtful: goalkeeper Christian Zawieschitzky (adductor). Out: Nikolas Veratschnig, Damir Redzic, Enrique Aguilar, Justin Omoregie, Soumaïla Diabaté, plus three squad-eligibility absentees. Veratschnig’s absence is why Morgalla is projected at right-back. Karim Konaté started the opener and is the alternative to Tabaković, who some previews expect on the bench after a knock.
AC Milan
- GK Mike Maignan
- DF Fikayo Tomori, Koni De Winter, Strahinja Pavlović
- MF Samuel Chukwueze, Adrien Rabiot, Luka Modrić, Davide Bartesaghi
- AM Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek
- ST Gonçalo Ramos
Out: Matteo Gabbia (thigh — stretchered off after twenty minutes at Sassuolo, set to see a specialist) and Alexis Saelemaekers (ankle). Pervis Estupiñán is a doubt with a knee problem, which is why Bartesaghi is projected at left wing-back. Tomori is favoured on the right of the back three over Mario Gila, and Loftus-Cheek competes with Diego Moreira — three goals in 127 league minutes this season — for the role behind Ramos.
Where reporting differs: one projected Milan side starts Yunus Musah in the midfield three instead of a second attacking midfielder, and another pairs Pulisic with Alphadjo Cissè up front rather than using Loftus-Cheek behind Ramos. On the Salzburg side, previews split on whether Tabaković or Konaté leads the line, and one has Stefan Lainer at right-back with Morgalla inside. We have not picked a side in any of those arguments.
Key Battles
Tabaković or Konaté against a Milan back three without Gabbia
Whoever leads the Salzburg line gets to test a defence that has just lost its most reliable aerial defender and has already conceded from corners twice in the past fortnight. Tabaković scored the winner in Sofia and has been Salzburg’s most productive forward this season; Konaté offers more pace in behind. Tomori, De Winter and Pavlović have kept Milan’s league defence respectable, but this is the fixture’s clearest physical mismatch.
Modrić and Rabiot against Barry and Mazurek
Salzburg’s double pivot is young, athletic and will be asked to press high, which is precisely how Milan were hurt against Benfica — controlled possession, then punished in transition. If Barry and Mazurek can force Milan sideways in their own half, Salzburg’s front four can run at a back three that has not settled since Gabbia’s injury. If not, Rabiot’s late runs into the box become the evening’s recurring problem.
Kitano and Vertessen against Milan’s wing-backs
Salzburg’s widest threats operate in the half-spaces either side of a striker, and Milan’s wing-backs — Chukwueze on one side, Bartesaghi or Estupiñán on the other — have been the least settled part of Amorim’s team. Chukwueze in particular struggled at Sassuolo and was substituted early. Whoever wins those flank duels decides where the game is played.
Kit Note: Salzburg and Milan
Milan’s rail runs from the current home, away and third shirts through the long-sleeve third and the goalkeeper shirt to the women’s and kids’ home shirts. Salzburg’s carries the new 2026/27 away shirt in deep crimson and last season’s home shirt. Everything below is live in the shop and priced the same across every size of a given shirt.
AC Milan — the current home, away and third shirts, the long-sleeve third, the goalkeeper shirt, plus the women’s and kids’ home shirts
Swipe to browse 7 AC Milan jerseys
RB Salzburg — the new 2026/27 away shirt and the home shirt from last season’s run
Swipe to browse 2 RB Salzburg jerseys
