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MILAN, ITALY – JANUARY 08: Rafael Leao of AC Milan stretches to shoot during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Genoa CFC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on January 08, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
Massimiliano Allegri is expected to shuffle his pack and leave Rafael Leao out of the Milan starting line-up for Sunday’s crucial clash away against Daniele De Rossi’s Genoa, in a game that could have major implications in the race for the Serie A top four.
Genoa vs. Milan is one of five matches being played at 11.00 BST on Sunday. The scheduling of these matches was a surprisingly complicated ordeal: All matches involving Napoli, Juventus, Milan, Roma and Como have to be played at the same time to ensure competitive fairness given that this weekend’s round of fixtures could be decisive in the race for the top four, and to complicate proceedings, there was a major scheduling clash involving the Derby della Capitale between Roma and Lazio and the men’s final of the Italian Open, both being played on the same site on the same day.
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Eventually, the decision was taken for all of these matches to be played at 11.00 BST on Sunday (12.00 local time).
Milan have been on an alarmingly poor run of form since the beginning of April, having lost four of their last six league matches, picking up just four points over that stretch. They have slipped from second place down to fourth and now find themselves level on points with fifth-placed Roma with just two games of the season left to go.
Pre-match reports indicate that Allegri will move several players around following last weekend’s defeat against Atalanta.
Leao will have to sit this one out due to a yellow-card suspension, which is also the case for Alexis Saelemaekers and Pervis Estupinan. Christopher Nkunku appears most likely to replace Leao in attack, Zachary Athekame is the logical replacement for Saelemaekers. Fikayo Tomori, Ardon Jashari and Youssouf Fofana are also in line to return to the starting XI according to Sky Sport Italia.
Luka Modric is also expected to be among the substitutes, despite recently fracturing his cheekbone which was expected to end his 2025-26 season.
Genoa vs. Milan: Probable line-ups
Genoa (3-5-2): Bijlow; Marcandalli, Otoa, Vasquez; Sabelli, Malinovskyi, Frendrup, Amorim, Ellertsson; Ekhator, Colombo.
Milan (3-5-2): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Athekame, Fofana, Jashari, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Gimenez, Nkunku.
Where to watch Genoa vs. Milan
Sunday’s match will be available to watch live in the UK exclusively on DAZN. Supporters in the USA are able to tune in via Paramount+.
Join us for all the pre-match build-up, in-game coverage and post-match reactions on the Football Italia Liveblog.
ByPeter Young
Peter Young is a Senior Reporter with Football Italia.
