The curtain rises on the 2026 Serie A season at the Unipol Domus, where Cagliari vs. Milan is scheduled for this evening at 8:45 PM. The first match of the new year, which opens matchday eighteen , sees the Rossoblu chasing another positive result against a bête noire: just one win since 2000 against the Rossoneri (now coached by the great former teammate Massimiliano Allegri), which was sealed by a last-gasp goal from Fabio Pisacane (2-1 in their last competitive match at the Sant'Elia, 2017).
To pull off the coup, the coach is relying on Semih Kılıçsoy, who has exploded in the last two matches, where he broke new ground (against Pisa before Christmas) and repeated his form (against Torino last Saturday, securing the win with a wonder goal). The Turkish striker will lead the attack alongside Sebastiano Esposito, in what is expected to be a 3-5-2 . Yerry Mina and Juan Rodríguez return in defense , with the latter starting alongside Gabriele Zappa and Sebastiano Luperto.
Also on the bench, alongside the Colombian, are Joseph Liteta and Zito Luvumbo, who have just returned from the Africa Cup of Nations. Alessandro Deiola is available despite a right thigh problem he picked up this morning; he will be evaluated .
Here are the official lineups for Cagliari-Milan: Rosario Abisso, from the Palermo section, will referee. Kick-off is at 8:45 PM, with live coverage on unionesarda.it and pre- and post-match coverage on Radiolina, with commentary by Lele Casini from Unipol Domus .
Cagliari (3-5-2): Caprile; Zappa, Juan Rodríguez, Luperto; Palestra, Adopo, Prati, Mazzitelli, Obert; Kılıçsoy, S. Esposito.
On the bench: Ciocci, Radunović, Idrissi, Gaetano, Deiola, Di Pardo, Rog, Cavuoti, Pintus, Mina, Liteta, Borrelli, Pavoletti, Trepy, Luvumbo.
Coach: Fabio Pisacane.
Milan (3-5-2): Maignan; De Winter, Tomori, Bartesaghi; Saelemaekers, Rabiot, Modrić, Fofana, Estupiñán; Loftus-Cheek, Rafael Leão.
On the bench: P. Terracciano, Torriani, Ricci, Füllkrug, Pulišić, Athekame, Odogu, Jashari, Pavlović, Castiello, Gabbia.
Coach: Massimiliano Allegri.
