Our first match in Singapore for six years comes against Italian giants AC Milan.
It will be I Rossoneri’s first game in pre-season before they face Liverpool in Hong Kong, Perth Glory in Australia and Leeds United in Dublin ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
However all eyes will be on the National Stadium on Wednesday as we start the tour, and here is everything you need to know about our opponents:
The history
One of the world’s most decorated and celebrated clubs, AC Milan were formed by Englishman Herbert Kilpin in 1899 and quickly began collecting silverware, but an internal split in 1908 brought about the creation of arch-rivals Inter Milan.
That led to a major trophy drought until the 1950s, but they would be one of the most dominant sides throughout the majority of the second half of the century by winning five European Cups and claiming a 16th Serie A title in 1999.
Further success in the Champions League came in 2003 and 2007, but domestic successes were few and far between, with just two further league titles and a single Coppa Italia coming their way following the turn of the century.
That all changed in 2012/22 though when Milan lifted their first Scudetto in 11 years, edging out their neighbours Inter by just two points. Their last trophy came in January 2025 when they beat Inter in the Supercoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia.
The manager
It has been all change in recent seasons for AC Milan with three managers taking the hot seat since Stefano Pioli's departure at the end of the 2023/24 campaign. Following unsuccessful stints from Paulo Fonseca and Sergio Conceicao, the Italian giants have turned to a former manager in Massimiliano Allegri, who is undertaking his second stint in charge.
Allegri's first spell at I Rossoneri was a successful one, winning the Scudetto in his first season in 2010/11, a first title in seven seasons. The Italian followed that up with the Supercoppa Italiana in 2011/12, but he would only last another season-and-a-half before being sacked in January 2014.
The 57-year-old went on to have great success across two spells with Juventus, winning five league titles in a row. He also lifted five Coppa Italias across two spells and two Supercoppa Italianas to boot. His most recent spell ended in May 2024.
2024/25 Season
It was a difficult season for Milan, who will be without European football in 2025/26 for the first time since the 2019/20 campaign. Despite finishing eighth in Serie A, I Rossoneri did have some success, lifting the Supercoppa Italiana after defeating rivals Inter 3-2 thanks to Tammy Abraham's late winner.
In the Coppa Italia, Milan knocked out Sassuolo, Roma and Inter to reach the final but lost 1-0 to Bologna in Rome thanks to Dan Ndoye's second-half goal, handing Bologna a first major trophy since 1974.
In the Champions League, Milan's highlight was a 3-1 victory against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. Milan placed 13th in the league phase and were knocked out by Feyenoord in the knockout phase play-offs.
The squad
There are plenty of familiar faces to Premier League watchers in the AC Milan squad, including 39-year-old Luka Modric who has swapped Real Madrid for the San Siro this summer. However, he and Mexican striker Santi Jimenez haven't travelled to Asia after their summer exploits at the Club World Cup and Gold Cup.
Last season's top goalscorer Christian Pulisic joined from Chelsea in 2023, while Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have also made the same switch from west London to Milan. Former Tottenham full-back Emerson Royal is also in the Milan squad.
Rafael Leao has been one of the standout players for AC Milan over the years, making 260 appearances and netting 70 goals since his debut in 2019. Goalkeeper and club captain Mike Maignan is another standout name in the squad, which has been added to by the arrival of Italian international midfielders Samuele Ricci who joined from Torino for £20 million.
He will replace influential midfielder Tijjani Reijnders who has departed for Manchester City, while Pierre Kalulu and Marco Pellegrino have made their loans permanent to Juventus and Boca Juniors respectively. French full-back Theo Hernandez joined Al Hilal for £22 million, while Alessandro Florenzi, Davide Calabria, Luka Jovic and Marko Lazetic have all been released.
Travelling squad
Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan, Matteo Pittarella, Pietro Terracciano, Lorenzo Torriani.
Defenders: Davide Bartesaghi, Matteo Duțu, Matteo Gabbia, Alex Jimenez, Vittorio Magni, Strahinja Pavlovic, Filippo Terracciano, Malick Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori.
Midfielders: Warren Bondo, Christian Comotto, Youssouf Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Yunus Musah, Christian Pulisic, Samuele Ricci, Alexis Saelemaekers.
Forwards: Samuel Chukwueze, Lorenzo Colombo, Rafael Leao, Mattia Liberali, Noah Okafor.
The previous meetings
We first met Milan in competitive action back in 1995 when they beat us 2-0 over two legs to claim the UEFA Super Cup. In 2007/08, we were paired together in the last-16 of the Champions League, and this time we prevailed thanks to a 2-0 win in the San Siro with Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor on target.
Four years later, we met at the same stage in the same competition, and we nearly overturned a 4-0 first-leg deficit via a 3-0 home win. Our last competitive meeting came in the Europa League in 2018, when goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey sealed success in the San Siro, before a 3-1 victory at Emirates Stadium saw us safely into the quarter-finals, thanks to a Danny Welbeck brace and a Granit Xhaka strike.