Milan – Newcastle United
Champions League Group Stage Game 1
Milan, September 19, 18:45 CET
At the sold-out "San Siro" stadium, the proud seven-time European champion Milan will play for victory against the excellent Newcastle United from the Premier League, on Tuesday in the first match of the group stage in the Champions League.
The Milan team wants to forget the 5:1 defeat in the city derby against the European vice-champion Inter last Saturday in Serie A. It is expected that the Italian giants will perform offensively, in a very delicate match for them. And to finally "unlock" the attacking potential, with Nigerian wing-forward Chukwueza potentially in the starting line-up.
Also, important news for Milan is the return of English defender Tomori to the squad rotation. The team definitely has the quality for top European matches, but that is not a sufficient guarantee for victory against the "magpies" from Newcastle in this game.
Newcastle United played maturely last weekend to beat Brentford 1:0 at home in the Premier League. The English team ended a streak of three defeats. In the last six matches played by the Newcastle team, 19 goals have been scored. Against teams that have enviable technical quality and do not defend, Newcastle United have had problems this summer. An example is the 3:1 away defeat against Brighton in a match played on September 2nd - as well as against Liverpool 2:1 at home on August 27th.
In the last six games played by Milan, as many as 26 goals were scored! Thus, a match is again expected in which the home team will not defend – but to look for as many chances to score a goal as possible – and also to provide those chances to the guests. Potentially, this means excellent chances to see at least three goals in this game.
Victory against Roma away 2:1 (September 1), in a duel in which 22 shots were seen - as well as a triumph over Torino 4:1 in Milan (August 26), in which the Milan team had 17 and the opponent 8 shots – are examples of what kind of duel to expect against Newcastle United.
Algerian Bennacer will certainly not play for the hosts due to a knee injury, while the appearances of Kalulu and Caldara are uncertain. However, Milan is counting on rested all main players and will have a great motive to repay the fans, in a sold-out stadium, after a heavy defeat in the city derby.
On the other hand, Brazilian Joelinton is a potential injury problem for Newcastle United - but there are good chances that the midfielder will still be in the squad for this game. Milan has shown in the last two months, from the first preparatory matches, that the team is ready to play with a more attacking approach in difficult matches than it was the case last season.
Both teams have clear ambitions to reach the round of 16 of the Champions League. For Newcastle United, this will be the first match in the European elite after 21 years, so the English team will have a special motive for this historic game for them. All in all, there is enough reason to expect an entertaining and efficient football performance in which both teams will have numerous scoring chances.