Lazio vs. Milan: No Chukwueze meet with Super Eagles’ Dele-Bashiru – preview, team news, h2h

Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze faces a Lazio side sitting at the top of Serie A with a perfect record when his AC Milan travel to the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday for the fourth round of the 2026/27 season, Afrik Foot reports.

The fixture carries a double Nigerian interest. Chukwueze, who has registered two assists in three league appearances for Milan, lines up against a Lazio squad that includes Super Eagles midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, although the 23-year-old will miss the match through a rectus femoris injury sustained earlier in the campaign.

Dele-Bashiru’s absence is one of several midfield losses that have left Gennaro Gattuso short of options in the engine room, a factor that tilts the balance towards Chukwueze’s Milan despite the hosts’ flawless start to the season.

Chukwueze’s Milan face a Lazio defence that has conceded once in three games

Lazio’s start to the campaign has been built on defensive discipline rather than attacking volume.

Gattuso’s side beat Bologna 1-0 away on opening day, edged Genoa 1-0 at home in the second round and came from behind to win 2-1 at Udinese in the third, with Albert Gudmundsson heading the winner in the 88th minute.

One goal conceded in three matches represents the best defensive record in Serie A, shared with Cagliari and Juventus, and three of those four goals scored have come from the boots of Davide Frattesi, who has found the net in every league game since arriving on loan from Inter.

Milan’s campaign began with a 2-1 victory at Torino, where Cisse and Adrien Rabiot scored either side of a late Torino consolation, before a comfortable 2-0 win over Venezia at San Siro in which Goncalo Ramos opened his account for the club.

The one blemish came in Turin last Saturday, when Cisse gave Milan the lead in the 69th minute only for Federico Gatti to equalise for Juventus with a header deep into stoppage time, a result that cost Amorim’s side a place in the group of nine-point teams at the top.

Chukwueze, the Super Eagles forward, played a direct role in both of Milan’s away goals this season, providing the assist for Rabiot against Torino from a starting position and teeing up Cisse against Juventus after coming off the bench in the second half.

Lazio vs. Milan head-to-head record

The two sides have met 186 times across all competitions, with Milan holding a commanding historical advantage: 80 wins to Lazio’s 42, with 64 draws.

Recent form at the Stadio Olimpico tells a different story, with Lazio winning their last two home meetings against the Rossoneri.

The most recent encounter, on March 15, 2026, ended 1-0 to Lazio through a Gustav Isaksen goal in the 26th minute, watched by 50,000 supporters at the Olimpico.

Before that, Lazio also eliminated Milan from the Coppa Italia in December 2025 with another 1-0 scoreline at the same venue.

Milan’s last victory in the fixture came at San Siro on November 29, 2025, also by a 1-0 margin, illustrating how tight these recent encounters have been.

Team news: Injuries, doubts and predicted lineups for Lazio vs. Milan

Lazio’s midfield has been hit hard by injuries ahead of this fixture. Nicolo Rovella, who was Gattuso’s first-choice holding midfielder, is a strong doubt with a calf strain and is likely to be rested.

Danilo Cataldi has undergone surgery for chronic pubalgia and will not return before October at the earliest, while Super Eagles midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, who had been a regular in Gattuso’s midfield rotation before his injury, is recovering from a first-degree rectus femoris tear and is not expected back until after the next international break.

Adam Marusic remains sidelined with a hamstring problem, with his return pencilled in for mid-October, and both Luca Pellegrini and Patric have not been registered in Lazio’s Serie A squad for this phase of the season.

Andrea Pinamonti took a knock to his ankle but has trained normally and is expected to start up front.

Milan’s squad is in better shape. Christian Pulisic is available but not at full fitness and is likely to be on the bench.

Matteo Gabbia is recovering from an ankle problem and could make the matchday squad without starting. Mario Gila, who joined Milan from Lazio during the summer window, has a knee complaint but is projected to start in the back three by Italian media outlets.

Lazio predicted XI (4-3-3): Mandas; Floriani Mussolini, Doekhi, Provstgaard, Tavares; Frattesi, Belahyane, Taylor; Isaksen, Pinamonti, Zaccagni.

Milan predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Pavlovic, De Winter, Gila; Chukwueze, Musah, Modric, Estupinan; Cisse, Rabiot; Ramos.

Star player watch: Frattesi vs. Chukwueze

Davide Frattesi has been the outstanding individual performer in this fixture’s build-up, scoring in all three of Lazio’s league games since joining on loan from Inter, where he had previously netted 11 goals in 60 Serie A appearances across two seasons.

Samuel Chukwueze has matched Frattesi’s FotMob rating despite operating in a different role, creating both of Milan’s goals in away fixtures this season from the right wing-back position in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1.

The Nigerian returned from Fulham, where he made 23 Premier League appearances last season with three goals and four assists, and has quickly established himself as Amorim’s first-choice option on the right flank.

The managers: Gattuso vs. Amorim

Gennaro Gattuso took the Lazio job on June 23, 2026, having previously managed the Italy national team during the 2025/26 season.

As a player, the Calabrian spent 13 years at Milan, making 468 appearances and winning two Champions League titles, two Scudetti, two UEFA Super Cups and a FIFA Club World Cup between 1999 and 2012.

Ruben Amorim arrived at Milan on June 16, bringing the 3-4-2-1 shape that had defined his work at Sporting and Manchester United.

Amorim spoke about his counterpart after the Juventus draw: “Gattuso was the image of that Milan: sometimes the team did not play well, but the aggression he brought to the pitch was something special for the whole squad. We know what we are going to face.”

Tactical preview: How Lazio and Milan could line up

The central question is how Lazio replace Rovella, whose short-passing game from the base of midfield has been the foundation of Gattuso’s 4-3-3, and compensate for the simultaneous absence of Dele-Bashiru, the Super Eagles midfielder who offered energy and ball-carrying ability as a rotational option alongside Rovella and Cataldi.

Reda Belahyane, the likely replacement, is a more defensive-minded player who prefers to break up play rather than initiate it, which could leave Lazio relying more heavily on Nuno Tavares’ overlapping runs from left back for their creative output.

Milan’s 3-4-2-1 places Chukwueze as a right wing-back, where the Super Eagles forward will face Tavares in direct duels along the touchline, while Pervis Estupinan operates on the opposite flank against Romano Floriani Mussolini.

Luka Modric and Yunus Musah form the midfield base for the visitors, and their ability to control the tempo through the centre will test a Lazio trio that is missing its best ball-circulator in Rovella.

Lazio vs. Milan betting tips and predictions

The defensive numbers from both sides point firmly towards a low-scoring affair, and Lazio’s midfield absences reduce the home side’s attacking capacity against an opponent who have already shown they can score away from home.

Lazio vs. Milan Score Prediction