AC Milan Aims for Third Successive Champions League Win
Italian football powerhouses AC Milan will square off against Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday evening at the Stadion Tehelne Pole, seeking their third successive win in the Champions League group stage. Milan enters the match off an impressive win against reigning champions Real Madrid, whereas Slovan remains winless in the league phase of the competition.
Match Preview
AC Milan’s Recent Resurgence
Having suffered a sluggish start to their Champions League campaign, with defeats against Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan have healed themselves. The climax of their resurgence came with a triumphant 3-1 win at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid, a match in which Alvaro Morata shone as he scored against his former club.
Until then, the Rossoneri sealed a 3-1 home victory over Club Brugge, which positioned them into playoff positions, just three points back from the top eight. Yet still, Milan can’t maintain their consistency. While their European run is impressive, their domestic form isn’t great. A boring 0-0 draw with Juventus, a 3-3 stalemate against Cagliari, shows the problems for Paulo Fonseca’s team. With just eight wins from the last 25 matches and an indifferent start to Serie A, success this term may well depend on knockout tournaments.
Slovan Bratislava’s Struggles
Slovan Bratislava, taking part in the Champions League group stage for the first time in 32 years since that Milan encounter, has had a terrible season so far. They have lost all four of their matches thus far, including a crushing 4-1 home defeat to Dinamo Zagreb. Their chances of a comeback are pretty slim, as they boast the worst goal difference (-13) in this group phase and have scored just two goals.
Domestically, however, Slovan has been dominant, with 14 wins in 17 matches this season. Having failed to impress in Europe, they managed to hold Kosice to a 1-1 draw recently, proving they are a team not to be trifled with in local competitions.
Team News
AC Milan
Milan also welcome back from injury Matteo Gabbia, but continue without the long-serving absentees Ismael Bennacer and Alessandro Florenzi. Luka Jovic’s groin issue persists as such leaving Alvaro Morata likely to be up front on behalf of support from the dynamic Rafael Leao. Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has been Milan’s top scorer in the group stage, and he’ll be key in midfield.
Slovan Bratislava
Slovan are able to welcome back two important players in Kevin Wimmer, who was out with a muscular problem, and former Milan man Juraj Kucka. The attack will be spearheaded by 1. Liga’s joint-second top scorer Tigran Barseghyan with 11 goals, and David Strelec, who has netted five times in his last five appearances.
Predicted Lineups
Slovan Bratislava (3-4-2-1):
Takac; Bajric, Kashia, Wimmer; Blackman, Ignatenko, Savvidis, Mak; Barseghyan, Tolic; Strelec
AC Milan (4-2-3-1):
Maignan; Emerson, Thiaw, Gabbia, Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Chukwueze, Pulisic, Leao; Morata
Prediction
Slovan Bratislava 0-2 AC Milan
Milan’s pace in attack and Slovan’s fragility at the back portend a routine victory for the visitors. The win might exponentially increase Milan’s hopes of qualifying automatically into the knockout stages.
