RB Salzburg vs AC Milan: Preview, team news, predictions & H2H

Samuel Chukwueze has made just one Europa League appearance for AC Milan this season, 90 minutes in the matchday one defeat to Benfica.

That record puts extra weight on Thursday’s trip to the Red Bull Arena, where the Super Eagles winger gets a second chance to open his European account for the Rossoneri against a Red Bull Salzburg side that are unbeaten in the league phase.

Ruben Amorim’s side arrive in Austria for matchday two of the Europa League’s league phase sitting near the bottom of the 36-team standings after that opening defeat, while Danny Röhl’s Salzburg head into the game full of confidence following a one-nil win away at Levski Sofia in their opener.

Samuel Chukwueze is the Panini player of the match after the Serie A soccer match between Torino and Milan — Samuel Chukwueze is the Panini player of the match. Copyright: xMarcoxAlpozzi/Imago

Match Radar: RB Salzburg vs AC Milan

⚽ RB SALZBURG vs AC MILAN
Competition	UEFA Europa League, League Phase (Matchday 2)
Kickoff	Thursday, October 15, 2026
Venue	Red Bull Arena, Wals-Siezenheim, Austria
Where to Watch	Check local TV and streaming listings
🇳🇬 Chukwueze has featured in just one Europa League game this season, a 90-minute appearance in the loss to Benfica

Match Preview: RB Salzburg vs AC Milan

Salzburg have won three and drawn two of their last five matches across all competitions, scoring eight goals and conceding just one in that run.

Four of those five matches have ended in clean sheets, including the 1-0 win at Levski Sofia that opened their league phase campaign, and Thursday is their first home game in this season’s Europa League.

Milan, by contrast, have won only one of their last five matches in all competitions, a 3-0 home win over Lecce sandwiched between three draws and the 0-2 Europa League defeat to Benfica.

Domestically, Amorim’s side remain unbeaten, sitting fifth in Serie A with three wins and three draws from six games, but all three of their last away trips, at Sassuolo, Lazio and Juventus, have ended in draws.

Head-to-Head: RB Salzburg vs AC Milan

Both sides met twice in the 2022-23 Champions League group stage, with Milan winning one and drawing the other, and Salzburg yet to beat them.

The most recent game was in November 2022, a 4-0 Milan win inside San Siro, four months after a 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena in the same campaign.

Those results are four years old and carry little weight on current form, but they underline how rarely Salzburg have troubled Milan in recent European competition.

Team News: RB Salzburg vs AC Milan

Salzburg

Salzburg are without Soumaïla Diabaté, Enrique Aguilar and Damir Redzic through injury, while Justin Omoregie will not feature again this season after an ankle injury, and Nikolas Veratschnig is not expected back until mid-December.

Johannes Moser is a doubt with an adductor problem, but Christian Zawieschitzky is fit to start in goal ahead of Christian Früchtl, who had been deputising while his teammate recovered from a muscle issue.

AC Milan

Milan will again be without both Matteo Gabbia and Alexis Saelemaekers, with the vice-captain’s tendon injury and Saelemaekers’ recovery from ankle surgery both expected to keep them out well into next year.

Gabbia’s absence means a reshuffle at the back, with Koni De Winter the likely replacement alongside Mario Gila and Strahinja Pavlović in Amorim’s three-man defence.

Predicted XI

RB SALZBURG	AC MILAN
Diabaté (thigh) – out Aguilar (thigh) – out Redzic (ankle) – out Omoregie (ankle) – out for season Veratschnig (knee ligament) – out until mid-December Moser (adductor) – doubtful	Gabbia (tendon) – out Saelemaekers (ankle surgery) – out

Predicted XI – RB Salzburg (4-2-3-1)

Zawieschitzky; Lainer, Boma, Drexler, Schmid; Barry, Krätzig; Lindström, Kitano, Vertessen; Konaté

Predicted XI – AC Milan (3-4-2-1)

Maignan; Gila, Pavlović, De Winter; Estupiñán, Rabiot, Musah, Chukwueze; Pulisic, Moreira; Ramos

Star player comparison: Haris Tabaković vs Samuel Chukwueze

Haris Tabaković Forward · RB Salzburg	Stat	Samuel Chukwueze Winger · AC Milan
3	Goals (league)	0
0	Assists (league)	2
7	Appearances (league)	6
7.03	Average rating	7.44

The Managers: Danny Röhl and Ruben Amorim

Danny Röhl took over at Salzburg in June on a three-year deal, returning to the Red Bull network after previous jobs at Sheffield Wednesday and Rangers, and earlier spells as an assistant at Leipzig, Southampton and Bayern Munich.

Ruben Amorim arrived the same month, replacing Massimiliano Allegri after Milan finished fifth in Serie A and missed out on Champions League qualification.

The Portuguese coach knows this competition well, having led Manchester United to the 2024-25 Europa League final before he was sacked by the English club in January, and a positive result in Austria would ease some of the scrutiny that his return invites.

Coach Ruben Amorim in the football match between Manchester United and AC Milan — Coach Ruben Amorim of AC Milan. Copyright: ImagoxGrzegorzxWajdax

Tactical Preview: How RB Salzburg vs AC Milan Could Play Out

Röhl has stuck with a 4-2-3-1 built around high pressing and quick transitions, the template that has delivered four clean sheets in Salzburg’s last five matches.

Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 relies on wing-backs for width, and without Gabbia marshalling the back three, Salzburg’s front players, particularly the mobile Konaté and Vertessen, will look to exploit space in behind a reshuffled Milan defence.

Milan’s threat comes through Chukwueze and Pulisic stretching play from wide areas, which could pull Salzburg’s full-backs out of position and open the middle for Moreira and Ramos.