ALLEGRI: "AIMING TO START THE YEAR WELL IN CAGLIARI"

New Year and matchday eve for the Rossoneri, who are getting ready to fly to Sardinia for their first match of 2026. Cagliari v AC Milan is the Serie A Matchday 18 opener, and the game was previewed in a press conference with Coach Allegri. Here are his main quotes:

TOWARDS CAGLIARI
"Tomorrow's match will be a difficult one, because it’s the first of the year and because the standings are starting to take shape. They play good football and did very well against Torino, breaking quickly and showing quality in the box. We’ll need to stay focused for all 90 minutes plus stoppage time".

THE SCHEDULE
"If you win, it’s nice to play on Friday; if you lose, it would have been nice to play on Sunday. We shouldn’t think about how the fixture list is structured, we just have to work and focus on picking up as many points as possible. The next period will be tough, with six away matches and only two at home, and we’ll need to get everyone back so that we're in the best possible position after the Pisa match. We have to keep our feet on the ground and our objective must be clear."

MEDICAL NEWS
"Gabbia has recovered and will be on the bench. Nkunku won't be there due to a problem with his left ankle. Leão is back but hasn't played for a month, so we'll need to see how many minutes he has in his legs tomorrow. Pulisic trained with the team this morning, his condition will also be evaluated tomorrow. In the past few days, Pavlović has had a fever, he'll come to Cagliari and he'll play if he is well". 

ON THE PITCH IN SARDINIA
"As Pavlović hasn't trained, in this morning’s session I tried Odogu and Barte in the third centre-back post, but if Strahinja is fit, he’ll play. Up front I’ll see whether to play with two strikers or a single forward; I’ll decide who starts tomorrow, and then we’ll see during the match. The important thing is to get everyone back".

ALLEGRI'S CAGLIARI
"Even though many years have passed, I always remember Cagliari with great affection. I spent five years there, three as a player and two as a coach, so it’s stayed in my heart, also because it was my first experience in Serie A as a Coach. Going back there to play is always difficult".

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