Celtic vs AC Milan preview: Team news, line-ups, where to watch (25/07/2026)
Preview, team news, head-to-head, probable line-ups and where to watch Celtic vs AC Milan in a pre-season friendly at Celtic Park
Celtic host Italian giants AC Milan at Celtic Park on Saturday, July 25, as Martin O’Neill’s side enter their final preparations ahead of the start of the Scottish Premiership next week.
This pre-season, the Hoops have played out a 1-1 draw with Shelbourne in Ireland in their first pre-season test, before a 4-1 defeat to Sporting CP in Portugal. Their most recent friendly saw them draw 1-1 with Middlesbrough at Celtic Park.
Milan are further behind than their opponents in their pre-season preparations, with Serie A starting on August 23, far later than the July 31 start of the SFPL.
The Italians have completed their first week of pre-season under new coach Ruben Amorim, formerly of Manchester United, and are now stepping up preparations with a wave of friendlies on the horizon.
Their only off-season test so far has been a friendly against their U23 side Milan Futuro. After Celtic, Milan face arch rivals Inter in Perth, Australia, and another high-profile friendly against Chelsea in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Latest team news
Celtic
Celtic will still be without some of their World Cup representatives, who should return next week. Benjamin Nygren (Sweden), Alistair Johnston (Canada), and Auston Trusty (United States) were given extended holidays after making the knockout stages of the tournament.
Those who were eliminated at the group stages – Scotland pair Kieran Tierney and Anthony Ralston, South Korea’s Yang Hyun-jun and Tunisia’s Sebastian Tounekti – have returned to training and should get minutes on Saturday.
Fan favourite and final-day hero of last season’s title-decider Daizen Maeda is set to move to Premier League side Ipswich Town and therefore will not take part on Saturday.
AC Milan
Milan have many more World Cup participants still away: Christian Pulisic (United States), Ardon Jashari (Switzerland), Santiago Gimenez (Mexico), Pervis Estupiñan (Ecuador), Rafael Leão (Portugal), Alexis Saelemaekers and Koni de Winter (Belgium), Mike Maignan and Adrien Rabiot (France), and Luka Modrić (Croatia).
Therefore, a much-changed Milan line-up is expected for the visit to Scotland.
Head-to-head
- 03/12/2020: AC Milan 4-2 Celtic (Europa League group stage)
- 22/10/2020: Celtic 1-3 AC Milan (Europa League group stage)
- 26/11/2013: Celtic 0-3 AC Milan (Champions League group stage)
- 18/09/2013: AC Milan 2-0 Celtic (Champions League group stage)
- 04/12/2007: AC Milan 1-0 Celtic (Champions League group stage)
Predicted line-ups
In a pre-season friendly, where managers are still testing a number of players and big changes are expected, it is difficult to predicted the starting line-ups. With Milan having most of their squad still on leave after the World Cup, expect a much changed Italian side.
Celtic predicted XI: Sinisalo, Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Murray, Scales, McGregor, McCowan, Oxlade-Chamberlain, McArdle, Duran, Forrest.
AC Milan predicted XI: Torriani; Tomori, Pavlovic, Terracciano, Athekame, Ricci, Musah, Loftus-Cheek, Chukwueze, Kostic; Nkunku.
Key players to watch
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Celtic)
It’s a big season ahead for Oxlade-Chamberlain, who starts the campaign on the back of a much-needed pre-season for a player who has not had much continuity in recent years due to injury. If the former England international can stay fit and get in a good rhythm, he could become a prominent player for the Hoops. For now, it’s all about getting minutes under his belt and to enter the season in full fitness.
Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan)
British football fans will know all about Samuel Chukwueze from his time at Fulham. The mazy winger is a constant threat with his tight dribbling and fine left foot that can cause problems for any defence on his day. It will be interesting to see how such a player will fit into Amorim’s rigid 3-4-3 system, but the Nigerian will be a handful wherever he lines up.
Where to watch Celtic vs AC Milan
The friendly match between Celtic and AC Milan kicks off at 15:00 BST on Saturday, July 25 at Celtic Park in Glasgow.
The match will not be shown on any UK TV channel but is available for streaming via Celtic Player on the club’s official website.
