AC Milan vs Trento

New-look AC Milan and lower-league Trento are set to trade tackles in a lopsided summer friendly at the Milanello Sports Center.

Despite recruiting as many as eight new players this summer, Milan look up the creek without a paddle, with Stefano Pioli’s men going winless in four consecutive summer friendlies (D1, L3), only yesterday drawing with sub-par Monza 1-1. Defensive woes have tormented ‘I Rossoneri’ during their pre-season preparations. They’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in all but a 7-0 thumping of lower-league Lumezzane in their opening summer friendly. Pioli’s men also seem to have lost their scoring touch lately, going from netting 2+ goals in four consecutive matches to bagging one or fewer in the last two. But they’re still odds-on favorites to make light work of below-par Trento and get back on the rails ahead of an exciting friendly against Tunisian outfit Etoile Sahel.

Meanwhile, stuck in Italy’s third-tier Serie A, Trento may need a miracle to avoid defeat here, especially after succumbing to a 3-0 loss to Palermo last time out. The Italian minnows kicked off their pre-season with an unexpected 3-1 win over Serie B side Cittadella, scoring all three goals before halftime. Interestingly, all three goals they conceded in the abovementioned defeat to Palermo came in the first half, highlighting the potential for high-scoring early exchanges. Trento manager Bruno Tedino has overseen six consecutive matches without a clean sheet. But he can draw some confidence from the fact his men conceded more than once in just two of those six games.