Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 Serie A season brings Torino and AC Milan together on 23 August 2026, with both clubs managed by men who arrived only weeks ago and have yet to play a competitive league minute in charge. Ignazio Abate replaced Roberto D'Aversa at Torino on 12 June, while Rúben Amorim took over from Massimiliano Allegri at Milan on 15 June. Neither side has league form to reference and yet the pressure is real from day one, because Milan's resources and Torino's reputation for organised resistance both come with expectations attached.
Abate and Amorim have never met competitively, so there's no managerial record to parse. What matters here is how each man's system holds up under actual pressure, not what they said in pre season press conferences.
Torino have one competitive result to show: a 1-0 Coppa Italia win over Carrarese in August 2026, with Giovanni Simeone getting the only goal while the defensive shape Abate has been building held firm throughout despite the narrow margin. Milan's competitive data barely exists, with their recent outings limited to friendlies that produced a 4-2 win over Manchester United alongside a string of draws and one loss. Those games were experiments in Amorim's 3-4-2-1 and 3-5-2 setups, not meaningful form indicators.
Both squads are short handed in ways that matter. At Torino, Franco Israel is ruled out through injury, Eray Cömert is doubtful after picking up a knock in the Coppa Italia and Duván Zapata is also a doubt on fitness grounds. Losing Zapata hurts Abate's plan most of all: without him Torino can't hold the ball up front to bring runners through and the counter attack loses its anchor. Milan are without Rafael Leão, Christian Pulisic and Santiago Giménez, which strips three of Amorim's most dangerous attacking options in one go, leaving Gonçalo Ramos as the lone forward and asking new defensive recruits to settle into the back three immediately.
Both managers are working from a three man backline but Abate wants Torino to sit compact and counter while Amorim wants Milan to press, possess and pry defences open. Without Israel and potentially Cömert, Torino's back three needs to be almost faultless and if Zapata is missing too, Simeone has to do more hold up work than Abate would ideally want. Milan, missing Leão and Pulisic down the flanks, will push centrally through Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot in midfield, with the wing backs pushing high. Ramos becomes everything up front, target man and finisher with no one to share the burden. The most interesting battle is probably Nikola Vlasic finding gaps behind Milan's midfield, while Simeone's hold up play against the centre backs will tell you quickly whether Torino can build anything on the counter or whether they spend 90 minutes defending their own half.
The absences on both sides push the game toward a specific shape: Torino will invite pressure and try to hit on the break, while Milan shifts focus to central combinations rather than the forward runs behind defences that Leão and Pulisic typically make. If Milan's new defenders settle in quickly, they should have the platform to build through midfield rather than rely on transitions. If Torino's back three stays disciplined, Vlasic and Simeone have the tools to punish any overcommitment.
Milan lead the head to head with roughly 79 wins from 203 meetings, with Torino winning 56 and 67 drawn. Last season Milan won both Serie A fixtures 3-2 and the last six meetings have averaged around 4.3 goals per game. This fixture has a habit of producing goals when defensive shape slips and both sides have reasons to slip.
Set pieces could matter here given how unsettled both backlines are. Torino's rebuilt back three needs to stay alert to Milan's aerial threat from dead balls and Maignan will have to organise a defence that's still learning Amorim's hybrid zonal and man marking system. Simeone's movement and Vlasic's delivery give Torino a set piece danger that Milan's new defensive unit may not be ready for.
Milan to win 2-1. Torino's injury situation makes it harder for Abate to build anything sustained in possession and Modric and Rabiot have enough quality in midfield to find more openings than Torino can close. Simeone should get at least one chance if Torino can win the ball in transition and even without a fully fit back three, Abate's shape has enough structure to avoid a collapse.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
