AC Milan welcome Liverpool to San Siro in their final Group B match in 2021-22 UEFA Champions League.
Victory would see AC Milan snatch the Group B runner-up spot if Porto fails to beat Atletico Madrid, whereas Liverpool are already through as group winners but could seal top spot with a maximum 12 point margin.
Team News
Zlatan Ibrahimović could start for AC Milan after being rested in Saturday’s 2-0 Serie A win against Salernitana.
Pietro Pellegri (groin), Davide Calabria (calf), Samu Castillejo, Ante Rebic and Olivier Giroud (hamstring) all won’t be risked unless match fit but Simon Kjaer (knee) is ruled out.
Liverpool could welcome Naby Keita back from a hamstring injury which kept the midfielder out for over a month.
Roberto Firmino (hamstring), Joe Gomez (calf), Curtis Jones (eye) and Harvey Elliott (ankle) remain ruled out.
Stat Attack
- AC Milan have won just one of three previous Champions League meetings against Liverpool excluding penalty shootouts (W1, D1, L1).
- Liverpool are visiting AC Milan at the San Siro for the very first time – with their two previous ‘away’ matches against AC Milan previously held at neutral venues in 2004-05 and 2006-07 Champions League Finals.
- Theo Hernandez and Fikayo Tomori have picked up two yellow cards apiece for AC Milan in this season’s Champions League – more than any other player in the Italian team.
- Four of Liverpool’s eight away goals in this group this season have been scored by Mohamed Salah.
- Liverpool won their previous match refereed by Danny Makkelie this season – beating Atletico Madrid 2-0 in November.
Prediction
Although defending hasn’t been AC Milan’s finest point in this group despite evidently showing strong attacking quality, they have found their groove with three clean sheets in all competitions in the last fortnight so I do expect them to pose a tough threat here.
There however are injury issues which AC Milan need to be wary of because with a striker crisis, they cannot to overplay on the attack which could lead to a counterattacking approach rather than an aggressive attack.
Liverpool meanwhile are through but will be eager to continue their strong form in all competitions here, especially after a frustrating encounter at Wolves on Saturday where they were dominant yet wasted chances.
This game though is the ideal opportunity for Jurgen Klopp to rest several key players with a hectic domestic schedule to come in the next few weeks, although I can’t see him willing to give up momentum but I can see Liverpool winning this if they can get the job done early.
Prediction: AC Milan 1-2 Liverpool
Result: AC Milan 1-2 Liverpool