BayArena forms the backdrop for a mouth-watering UEFA Champions League encounter between Bayer Leverkusen and Milan. The two European heavyweights meet for the first time on Tuesday following a contrasting start to their continental campaigns.
Xabi Alonso’s side bagged four unanswered first-half goals en route to a thumping 4-0 victory against Feyenoord on matchday one, registering their most emphatic away win in Champions League history. Bayer Leverkusen followed that result with a trademark last-gasp 4-3 home win against Bundesliga rivals Wolfsburg.
Despite having their backs against the wall for most of their Saturday blockbuster against Bayern Munich, Die Werkself held the record-time German champions to a 1-1 draw, bolstering their spirits ahead of this clash. They head into proceedings as considerable pre-match favorites but can ill-afford to underestimate their visitors.
Milan got their Champions League journey off to a disappointing start, squandering an early lead in a 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool. However, they have since hit a purple patch under new manager Paulo Fonseca. Matteo Gabbia’s late winner inspired the Rossoneri to a potentially season-changing 2-1 win against arch-rivals Inter a week ago.
Buoyed by their first Derby della Madonnina triumph after six straight losses, Milan humbled Serie A minnows Lecce 3-0 last Friday. The Italians will look to maintain their uptick in form on German soil, where they’ve fared reasonably well lately.
Match Preview
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen became the first team in Bundesliga history to win the crown unscathed last season. However, their formidable 51-game unbeaten run in all competitions ended against Italian opposition as Atalanta thrashed them 3-0 in the Europa League showpiece in May.
Ademola Lookman’s hat-trick in Dublin condemned Die Werkself to another underwhelming result against Serie A clubs. Indeed, they’ve failed to win their last five home fixtures against Italian visitors (D3, L2), highlighting the scale of the task awaiting Alonso’s troops on Tuesday.
Adding to Alonso’s list of concerns, his men have blown hot and cold across their two home league outings this season (W1, L1). But as both matches featured over 4.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet, connoisseurs of action-packed football can look forward to this contest.
Milan
You’d need to go back to 2002 for the last time Milan lost on German soil. Borussia Dortmund got the better of Carlo Ancelotti’s side over 20 years ago, with the Rossoneri since avoiding defeat on seven consecutive visits to the country (W3, D4), including a scoreless draw against Die Borussen in last season’s Champions League group stages.
Against this backdrop, the 19-time Serie A champions have recently stuttered in foreign lands. Before a 2-1 comeback win against Newcastle United on last season’s matchday six, Milan had gone five consecutive Champions League away games without winning (D3, L2).
The San Siro outfit ominously drew a blank in four of those five winless outings. However, Fonseca’s frontlines have run like clockwork, netting multiple goals in five of their seven competitive matches this season. There’s ample room for improvement at the back, with Milan only keeping two clean sheets in that sequence.
Team News
Alonso can field his best line-up and approach the game in high spirits, with all Leverkusen stars fit and ready for this meeting. Florian Wirtz will require special attention from Milan defenders after registering 24 goal contributions in his last 26 European starts.
On the other hand, Fonseca is still without Ismael Bennacer, Marco Sportiello, Malick Thiaw, and Alessandro Florenzi. There’s a question mark over Alvaro Morata’s head after he picked up a muscle problem against Lecce. But Davide Calabria is back to full fitness.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Milan Potential Line-ups
Bayer Leverkusen (3-4-2-1): Lukas Hradecky; Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, Piero Hincapie; Jeremie Frimpong, Robert Andrich, Granit Xhaka, Alejandro Grimaldo; Martin Terrier, Florian Wirtz; Boniface.
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Emerson Royal, Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, Theo Hernandez; Youssouf Fofana, Tijjani Reijnders; Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rafael Leao; Tammy Abraham.
Bayer Leverkusen vs Milan Prediction
Despite Milan’s mini-revival, Fonseca isn’t off the hook yet. It’s paramount for the Portuguese tactician to avoid defeat at the BayArena. Milan must address their defensive woes to boost their chances against Leverkusen’s free-scoring attack.
However, Fonseca’s men aren’t idle threats in the front third either. We expect both teams to find the net in a high-scoring stalemate.
Prediction: Draw
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