Certainly one of the most exciting games of the opening Champions League matchday sees Newcastle United head to the San Siro where they’ll be taking on AC Milan.
Both of these teams were in action at the same time on Saturday evening but they had very different results. While Newcastle managed to get a narrow and important win against Brentford, Milan lost their 100% record in Serie A through a 5-1 thrashing inflicted by city rivals Inter.
It will be a big mental task for Milan to exorcise their derby demons but they can be guaranteed a riotous atmosphere in San Siro on Tuesday night. The travelling Newcastle fans will certainly play their part in the theatre of the occasion after 20 years without Champions League football.
Here is all you need to know about Newcastle’s return to the top table of European football.
This is the first competitive meeting between Milan and Newcastle.
Current form (Last Five Games)
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United Kingdom |
discovery+, TNT Sports 1, discovery+ App |
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United States |
Paramount+, UniMas, Univision NOW, ViX, TUDN.com, TUDN App |
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DAZN |
It was a really horrible evening under the Milanese rain for Stefano Pioli’s side but his team was able to get through the match without any fresh injuries, meaning he should be fielding a stronger XI against Newcastle.
Fikayo Tomori will return after he was suspended for the derby, taking the place of either Simon Kjaer or Malick Thiaw, who were both very poor against Inter.
There could be a couple of changes further forward such as Christian Pulisic making way for Samuel Chukwueze but Pierre Kalulu (muscle) and Ismael Bennacer (knee) are still injured.
AC Milan predicted lineup vs Newcastle (4-3-3): Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Kjaer, Hernandez; Reijnders, Krunic, Loftus-Cheek; Chukwueze, Giroud, Leao
There was an injury boost for Newcastle during the weekend which really adds to the narrative at San Siro. Sandro Tonali was fit enough to make the bench against Brentford so the assumption is that he will get minutes against his old team soon after making the switch.
Joe Willock and Emil Krafth remain sidelined, and Joelinton is also expected to miss out. With Tonali coming back into the starting XI, the assumption is that 20-year-old Elliot Anderson will drop down to the bench at San Siro.
Newcastle predicted lineup vs AC Milan (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Tonali; Gordon, Isak, Barnes
This could be a pretty low-scoring affair given Milan will be very keen to avoid a situation like the derby again, and Newcastle do not look as ruthless right now as they did last season. The Magpies got the three points against Brentford but it was hardly a walkover.
Milan were so poor against Inter but it was totally out of keeping with their first three games of the season, and they do have more recent experience of big Champions League games having reached last year’s semi-finals. It may not be thrilling, but Pioli’s side should get the job done on home soil.
Prediction: AC Milan 1-0 Newcastle
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