San Siro stages curtain-raiser

Dominant force
Milan were the dominant force in Serie A last term and should be even stronger after adding three quality players in Jaap Stam, Vikash Dhorasoo and Hernán Crespo to an already winning squad. Stam joined the Rossoneri from Lazio - one of a number of departures from the Rome club.

Di Canio's return
Stefano Fiore and Bernardo Corradi left for Valencia CF, while Giuseppe Favalli and Sinisa Mihajlovic followed coach Roberto Mancini to FC Internazionale. Lazio will start the campaign with new faces at every level of the club. Claudio Lotito has replaced Ugo Longo as president, Domenico Caso has been appointed as coach, and veteran forward Paolo Di Canio has returned to the team that launched his professional career.

Reason to believe
Di Canio is looking forward to donning the light blue shirt again and said: "Despite the departure of some good players, our squad still has plenty of quality." The 36-year-old, who has also played for Milan, added: "I think we can show it in the Super Cup against Milan. We just need to work hard and I'm sure this group will manage to make our fans happy."

Lazio old boys
On Saturday, Milan will be without the injured Filippo Inzaghi and Clarence Seedorf while Andrea Pirlo is representing Italy at the Olympic Games. Massimo Ambrosini and Rui Costa should start in midfield, while captain Paolo Maldini could return to his former left-back role with Stam and Alessandro Nesta, both Lazio old boys, lining up in central defence.

Couto's new deal
In attack Carlo Ancelotti is expected to field Andriy Shevchenko, last season's Serie A top scorer, alongside Crespo with Kakà just behind them. They will line up against Lazio veteran defender Fernando Couto, who has just renewed his contract and will likely partner Paolo Negro at the back. In midfield Di Canio, Fabio Liverani and Cesar should operate behind a sole striker in Roberto Muzzi.

Records
This will be the eighth time Milan have contested the Super Cup since its introduction 17 years ago. The Rossoneri have won it four times (1988, 1992, 1993 and 1994) but have lost on their last three appearances, most recently last summer against Juventus FC. Lazio have lifted the trophy twice, in 1998 and 2000.

Confidence boost
"I think it's really important to win the Super Cup," said Milan's Brazilian Kakà, looking ahead to the match at the San Siro. "I'm playing for this trophy for the first time and I want to win it. I also believe that winning trophies can only give us more confidence ahead of the new Serie A season and the upcoming [UEFA] Champions League campaign."