We are heading into matchday 2 of the Champions League group stage. AC Milan are set to take on Atlético Madrid in the San Siro stadium as Turkish referee Cunyet Cakir will be directing the match.
Stefano Pioli's men lost the previous fixture in the Champions League 3-2 while Diego Simeone's team only managed to get 1 point from the match versus Porto.
Both teams are motivated and ready to give their best in order to grab their first win in this competition.
The Rossoneri, despite the loss against The Reds, have shown glimpses of their true quality and potential. The group lacks experience in the Champions League, but there is great determination to improve. Two quick goals against Liverpool proved that AC Milan are always ready to punish if any space is found. Liverpool's quality and pace however tipped them to grab the winner at the end. The Italian side's fans were left hoping for a great effort in the rest of the competition.
Atlético Madrid, on the other hand, drew 0-0 against Portuguese giants Porto. Despite having Joao Felix, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez, goals were hard to come by.
In the league though, Atlético Madrid's last game was not positive, they have lost to Alaves. Diego Simeone's men conceded a goal 4 minutes in and seemed unable to find any attacking solutions. Before that, the La Liga defending champions enjoyed a 3-match-winning streak away from home.
AC Milan's record in the league so far is almost perfect with 5 wins and one draw. The latest game was a victory 2-1 against Spezia where Pioli's group showed grit, willingness as they refused to give up until the end.
The match tomorrow promises to be very intense, Atlético Madrid boast a perfect record against the Serie A giants from their previous two clashes in the Champions League. The Spaniard won 1-0 at the San Siro before claiming another victory 4-1 in the round of 16 Champions League tournament of 2013-2014. That was the last game for AC Milan in this elite European competition before returning this season.
Milan must get a positive result in front of their fans in a packed San Siro (as allowed by the protocols and regulations). The team will try to play with a high pressing but not too high in order to not get caught in quick counter-attacks which Atlético are so good at. However, that is a common point for the two teams as AC Milan also has pace and dynamism in their repertoire. The key challenge here will be between Fikayo Tomori and prolific striker Luis Suarez. On the other end, Rafael Leao and Brahim Diaz will do their best to create chances for the centre-forward.
It will be a very hard match, but that does not mean that AC Milan have no chances of winning. On the contrary, if the game against Liverpool is anything to go by, Il Diavolo has the ability to put Atletico in real trouble. Mentally, the players must be very organised and ready especially in the defensive area and ready to exploit the spaces left by the opponents given at any moment.
This is the likely lineup that the coach, Stefano Pioli should be going with:
4-2-3-1: Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Simon Kjaer (or Alessio Romagnoli), Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Sandro Tonali, Franck Kessié; Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao; Ante Rebic.
As for Atlético Madrid, here's the probable formation that can be deployed:
3-5-2: Oblak; Gimenez, Felipe, Hermoso; Trippier, Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Carrasco; Suarez, Félix
