AC Milan 2022/23 Preview: Fixtures, Transfers, Star Player & Predictions | OneFootball

AC Milan head into the 2022-23 season as Scudetto winners and will aim to defend their crown and make a run in the Champions League.

The Rossoneri had their most successful campaign in recent years as they claimed the Serie A title on the last matchday, their first trophy since winning the Italian Super Cup in 2016/17.

Despite featuring in the Champions League for the first time in seven years last season, missing out on the round of 16 and finishing last in their group by a mere two-point margin was a bitter pill to swallow. Here is our AC Milan season preview for 2022/23, and you can also read our full Serie A 2022/23 season preview here.

AC Milan Fixtures

Milan begin their fixtures at home to Udinese on August 13 before travelling to Bergamo to face Atalanta the following weekend.

Their first encounter against Inter Milan is at the start of September, and they are not scheduled to meet their cross-city rivals again until January 18. They will play Napoli two weeks later and then clash against Juventus on October 9.

The Rossoneri will face Fiorentina in the last match of 2022 and then start the New Year with a visit to Salerno before hosting Roma.

The Coppa Italia round of 16 will take place on January 11 and Milan’s opposition will likely be one of Torino or Lecce.

In their last seven matches of the season, Milan will play Roma (A), Cremonese (H), Lazio (H), Spezia (A), Sampdoria (H), Juventus (A) and Hellas Verona (H).

The match against the Bianconeri could very well end up deciding the Scudetto winner in a similar manner to last season.

Manager

Stefano Pioli was able to guide Milan to their first Serie A title in 11 years and proved he was the right man to lead them forward after a decade of uncertainty with coaches.

The Rossoneri have been on the rise since Pioli’s appointment in October of 2019 and the Italian has given the club the sense of identity they lacked in previous seasons.

He has had to work with limited spending and a squad that has nowhere near the depth of the likes of Juventus and Inter but has managed to produce similar results.

The addition of Charles De Ketelaere should provide much-needed depth and creativity and it will be intriguing to see how Pioli uses the Belgian attacker in his system.

Transfer Business

Although they will feature in three competitions this season, Milan have been one of the quieter clubs this summer and this is largely due to the fact that barely any profit has arrived from player sales.

De Ketelaere has been Milan’s marquee signing this summer as he arrived on a €35 million fee from Club Brugge.

Divock Origi also joined on a free transfer from Liverpool and will fall behind Olivier Giroud in the pecking order in attack.

Alessandro Florenzi and Junior Messias had their temporary moves made permanent and the club welcomed back Yacine Adli and Tommaso Pobegba from their loan spells.

Franck Kessie and Alessio Romagnoli followed in the footsteps of Gianluigi Donnarumma and Hakan Çalhanoğlu by leaving the club on free transfers to join Barcelona and Lazio respectively.

Other notable departures include Samu Castillejo, Léo Duarte and Jens Petter Hauge as well as Mattia Caldara and Lorenzo Colombo who were sent back on loan.

The club has shown concrete interest in signing Renato Sanches and Hakim Ziyech but both transfers seem improbable when considering the amount spent towards De Ketelaere and Milan’s limited budget.

A Fikayo Tomori-esque loan move for Tottenham Hotspur defender Japhet Tanganga is still in negotiations.

Star player

Rafael Leão played an integral role in Milan’s Scudetto victory, most notably in the final stretch of the season where he amassed three goals and six assists in the last six matches.

The Portuguese winger finished the season with 11 goals and 10 assists across 34 Serie A appearances and his efforts were enough to win the Serie A MVP and become a regular squad call-up for his national team.

Leão also established himself as one of the world’s best dribblers as he was the third best among European players after Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Newcastle United’s Allan Saint-Maximin.

The 23-year-old is into the final year of his contract with Milan and the club’s recent history with letting players leave on free transfers has sparked numerous transfer rumours.

Although Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have expressed interest in Leão, Milan’s director Paolo Maldini has shrugged off the speculation and insisted that he is not for sale.

Leão has looked impressive during pre-season and Milan will need him to be one of their most significant offensive outlets this season.

Prediction

Milan’s Scudetto triumph overshadowed their group stage exit in the Champions League and bitter defeat to Inter in the Coppa Italia semi-final last season.

Pioli did an excellent job with his side and has proved that he can deliver results under a tight transfer budget and squad with limited depth.

Reaching the Champions League knockout round could boost Milan’s title hopes as it would give the club more finances to work with in the transfer market and another marquee signing in January could make the difference in the title race.

If the Rossoneri can hold onto Leão for the rest of this season and add another centre-back to fill the absence of Romagnoli, they would be a good bet to claim the Serie A title in consecutive seasons.

More AC Milan Resources

AC Milan Fixtures and ResultsSerie A FixturesSerie A TableSerie A Top ScorersSerie A Live Streams