In one of the biggest clashes of gameweek four of the Champions League, Italian champions Milan host Chelsea at the Giuseppe Meazza as both teams look for the upper hand in Group E of European football’s biggest competition.
Our form guideMilan bounced back from a 3-0 defeat in the reverse fixture by recording what could be a pivotal 2-0 win over Juventus in Serie A at the weekend. The victory kept the Rossoneri in the mix at the top of Serie A. The men from Milan are also right in the fight for qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League.
Stefano Pioli’s team is in third place in the group but only behind the visitors on goal difference and just a point off the top. A victory in this game would be massive. However, Champions League wins have been hard to come by in recent seasons, as the Rossoneri have won just two of their last 12 games.
Chelsea picked up their third straight win in all competitions last weekend, seeing off Wolves 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. A fourth consecutive win would put the Blues in a healthy position in the table with just two gameweeks remaining.
However, Chelsea have struggled for consistency of late in the Champions League, having picked up just two wins from their last five games in the competition. The Blues have an excellent recent record against Milan, though, winning four of the previous five meetings with Milan.
The latest team info Milan has something of an injury crisis, as Mike Maignan, Alessandro Florenzi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Junior Messias, Simon Kjaer, Davide Calabria and Alexis Saelemaekers will all miss out due to injuries. Divock Origi could start up front after a few cameos from the bench of late. Chelsea are expected to be without French pair Wesley Fofana and N’Golo Kante. Trevoh Chalobah is likely to deputise for Fofana in a back three.What do I think?
Despite Milan's injury problems, I think this could be a tight game. Therefore, the bet I am backing is under 2.5 goals scored.
