When Chelsea travels to San Siro in the Champions League on Tuesday night, they will be attempting to complete a quick double over AC Milan.
The Blues defeated the Serie A powerhouses 3-0 last week at Stamford Bridge, moving them into second place in Group E, level on points with third-place Milan, with Red Bull Salzburg taking the top spot.
Last week at Stamford Bridge, Milan were far from at their best; the Serie A team struggled to get going for the majority of the game. It turned out to be a routine victory for Chelsea, with goals from Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Reece James.
On September 6, Stefano Pioli’s team drew 1-1 with Salzburg to begin their Group E campaign before defeating Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 in their next match.
They dropped to third after the loss at Chelsea, but the group is still very close at this point, with Dinamo Zagreb in fourth and Salzburg at the top separated by just two points.
Milan hasn’t advanced past the group stage of the Champions League since 2013–14, but they have won this competition seven times, making them the tournament’s second-most successful team behind Real Madrid, which won its 14th trophy last season.
The Red and Blacks enter this game after defeating Juventus in Serie A on Saturday night. Fikayo Tomori and Brahim Diaz scored against the disappointing Old Lady, and the result has put the Red and Blacks in fourth place in the standings, one point behind Atalanta BC.
Prior to their match against Milan last week, Chelsea was in a precarious situation in the group; however, the victory has seen them rise to second, and they will feel very confident about moving to the knockout round from this spot.
On September 6, Dinamo Zagreb defeated the Blues 1-0 in their first match of the competition. Following a 1-1 draw with Salzburg, they defeated Milan by a score of 3.
Graham Potter’s squad has now won three straight games overall after having defeated Wolves 3-0 on Saturday at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. Havertz, Pulisic, and Broja all scored goals.
Since Potter took over as head coach in place of the wildly successful Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea are currently fourth in the standings and appear to be moving in the right direction.
The Blues defeated Manchester City to win the Champions League in 2020–21, but after losing to Real Madrid in the competition’s quarterfinals the previous year, they are not currently thought of as one of the favourites to win the trophy at the end of the year.
Mike Maignan, Alessandro Florenzi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Junior Messias, Simon Kjaer, Davide Calabria, De Ketelaere and Alexis Saelemaekers are just a few of the numerous Milan players out with injuries.
Theo Hernandez’s return from injury against Juventus, who will start at left-back on Tuesday night, gave the hosts some encouragement.
Tommaso Pobega is probably going to leave the midfield to allow way for Rade Krunic to join the lineup in a more advanced role, but there shouldn’t be any significant surprises in the Milan starting squad, with Olivier Giroud set to lead the line and Diaz and Rafael Leao offering support.
N’Golo Kante is still sidelined with a hamstring issue for Chelsea, and Wesley Fofana is out with the knee injury he sustained in the rematch with Milan.
Ziyech was also excluded from the team for the London club due to a fitness issue. Kovacic, James, Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Chilwell are all anticipated to return from the starting lineup against Wolves on Saturday. The starting lineup will also change under head coach Potter. In central midfield, Loftus-Cheek should remain in that position, and Arrizabalaga, who has been playing well recently, is expected to stay in goal.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Tatarusanu; Dest, Kalulu, Tomori, Hernandez; Bennacer, Tonali; Krunic, Brahim Diaz, Leao; Giroud
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly; James, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacic, Chilwell; Raheem Sterling, Aubameyang, Mount
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