It’s a quick turnaround between rounds three and four of the Champions League this week as the San Siro plays host to Milan vs Chelsea to kick off the second half of the group stage fixtures. Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday so Milan will be looking to get their revenge here. So, let’s take a look at the preview and potential lineups for Milan vs Chelsea in Champions League round four action.
Match Preview
League Form
Graham Potter has made a blistering start to life as the new Chelsea boss, going undefeated in his first four matches and winning his last three. He was able to pick up his first win as Chelsea head coach away to Crystal Palace to start the month and the former Brighton man has carried on the Blues’ form in both Europe and in the Premier League.
A 3-0 drubbing of Serie A champions Milan was an impressive result, albeit against a Rossoneri side plagued with injuries. Back-to-back clean sheets is also a good sign, with Chelsea defeating Wolves 3-0 on Saturday at Stamford Bridge, recording their first successive league wins of the season. The victory also meant they have now won all three of their last matches in all competitions.
Milan continued in their solid start to the campaign over the weekend as they defeated Juventus 2-0 at the San Siro on Saturday. It was key for Stefano Pioli’s side to bounce back after their midweek defeat to Chelsea and the Rossoneri continue to pile on the pressure on Massimiliano Allegri and Juventus. Fikayo Tomori and Brahim Diaz were able to net for the champions as they recorded a well-deserved victory.
Despite a host of injury issues at the back, such as to Davide Calabria, Alessandro Florenzi, Simon Kjaer and starting goalkeeper Mike Maignan, Milan have seemingly been able to cope well on defense – on Italian soil at least. Twenty-two-year-old Matteo Gabbia came into the centre of defense on Saturday, making his first start of the season and performed well up against strong forwards Dusan Vlahovic and Arkadiusz Milik. Perhaps he will be calling for regular game time after his strong performance.
Champions League Form
Group E is certainly all to play four after the first half of group stage fixtures, with just two points separating first and last place. Chelsea’s victory over Milan has seen them draw level with the Rossoneri in terms of points, with both sides on four after the first three matches as they occupy second and third spot respectively. A win for either side would put them in great stead to secure qualification to the knockout rounds.
It doesn’t bode well for Milan as they host Chelsea this week. The seven-time European champions have failed to record a victory against English opposition in any of their last four meetings and they demonstrated a very underwhelming performance at Stamford Bridge last week, allowing Potter and Chelsea to change the momentum of the group.
Head-to-Head
Chelsea and Milan went head-to-head in what was the first competitive fixture between the two sides since the 1999 European Cup. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got one over his former club last week as he doubled Chelsea’s lead, adding to Wesley Fofana’s first half opener. Reece James then put the victory beyond doubt with close to half an hour still to play in what was a disappointing evening for the Milan faithful.
Thiago Silva on his time at AC Milan ?⚫️ pic.twitter.com/UWtzqpwAqk
— LiveScore (@livescore) October 7, 2022
Team News
Milan
Milan’s injury woes continue as they were without a number of important players in their 2-0 win at home to Juventus on Saturday. Davide Calabria continues to miss out after picking up a thigh injury over Empoli at the beginning of the month. Simon Kjaer and Alexis Saelemaekers also suffered injuries in that match and have missed Milan’s last two fixtures as a result.
Calabria’s injury was considered to be a serious one and he is expected to be out for up to three months, whilst Kjaer has an outside chance of returning to the squad for this one. That is a big question mark right now, however. Pioli has claimed that the heavy schedule has been the reason for his squad’s large amount of injuries. However, his side have coped well, especially with the defensive issues, and have adapted effectively to the situation.
Pierre Kalulu shifted to right-back against Juve, allowing Gabbia to occupy the centre-back role in which he excelled in, especially up against the dangerous Vlahovic. With French international Theo Hernandez also making his return over the weekend, he joins Tomori in what is shaping up to look like a very solid back four ahead of the clash against Chelsea.
Milan welcomed with return of Divock Origi over their last two fixtures and the former Liverpool forward adds much-needed options on offense to help out 36-year-old Olivier Giroud. However, Mike Maignan, Junior Messias, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are all still injured for the Rossoneri so they are still some way from a fully fit side.
Chelsea
Chelsea have been met with their own injury and fitness issues which has seen Potter make a host of changes to his lineups over the last few fixtures. Thiago Silva was absent in their 3-0 win over Wolves on Saturday, despite playing against Milan, since the veteran has been dealing with illness. However, he could return here to face his former side.
Potter has been wary of fitness and has rotated his side often during his small reign as Chelsea boss. Reece James was benched over the weekend but he should be ready to go on Tuesday and could be reinstated into the starting lineup. Ben Chilwell was also rested against Wolves but could feature against Milan. Raheem Sterling and Aubameyang also dropped to the bench but again, Potter is just being mindful and trying to avoid injury issues for the future.
Wesley Fofana did suffer an injury recently, however, and he won’t return until next month due to a knee sprain. N’golo Kante is still awaiting his return and Chelsea seem to be cautious in handling his recovery as the Frenchman continues to improve his fitness levels.
Chelsea vs Milan Potential Lineups:
Chelsea (3-4-2-1): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly; Reece James, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Ben Chilwell; Raheem Sterling, Kai Havertz; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Milan (4-3-2-1): Ciprian Tatarusanu; Pierre Kalulu, Matteo Gabbia, Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Sandro Tonali, Ismael Bennacer, Tommaso Pobega; Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao; Olivier Giroud