Liverpool v AC Milan – Backing The Reds to Win to Zero

Liverpool host AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night. The matchday one fixture at Anfield sees Jurgen Klopp’s in-form side host a Milan team with a 100% record in Serie A. These sides last met in the Champions League final in 2007 as the Rossoneri gained revenge for Istanbul in 2005.

Liverpool Form

The Reds are in top form. In the Premier League, they have 11 wins and three draws in their last 14 matches. With five clean sheets in the last six matches, their previously leaky backline looks imperious again. Their last match brought a comfortable 3-0 win at Leeds as

Mohamed Salah, Fabinho and Sadio Mane netted the goals.
Liverpool were knocked out in the quarter-finals in the Champions League last term against Real Madrid. A 3-1 away defeat was followed by a 0-0 draw in the second leg at Anfield.

Liverpool Team News

Roberto Firmino is still struggling with a hamstring injury so Diego Jota will lead the line in this match. The bad news for the Reds was a serious ankle injury for Harvey Elliott against Leeds. He will be missing long-term so Jordan Henderson could come in to start this match alongside Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara.

The rest of the team picks itself for this match with Joel Matip against expected to partner Virgil Van Dijk as their recovery from injury is really tested with the greater demands of the schedule.

Liverpool Motivation

Klopp’s side will go all out to win this match. They will want to top the group but even just qualifying won’t be easy with Porto and Atletico also in their section.

Home matches in Europe will be imperative to win so you can expect a very loud Anfield crowd for the return of fans for UEFA Champions League football in England.

The Lab – Stats Centre

AC Milan Form

After a couple of defeats in April, Milan rallied to finish the season strongly and qualify for the Champions League with a second-placed finish. Their final five matches of last season in the league brought five clean sheets and big final day 2-0 win at Atalanta. Stefano Pioli’s were unbelievable on the road last season and collected 10 more away points than champions Inter Milan.

This is the first time Milan have played in Europe’s premier competition since 2014. They were knocked out in the round 16 after a 5-1 aggregate loss to Atletico Madrid.

AC Milan Team News

The international break saw Milan lose midfielder Rade Krunic to injury and striker Olivier Giroud to COVID-19. Neither is expected to return for this match. Key midfielder Franck Kessie returned after injury to start the win against Lazio. Also returning was 39 year old Zlatan Ibrahimovic who scored after four months out. He could start against Liverpool.

Simon Kjaer will return at centre back to replace captain Alessio Romagnoli. Alexis Saelemsekers is expected to start down the right again with Alessandro Florenzi benched. Tiemoue Bakayoko made his debut against Lazio but had to go off injured.

AC Milan Motivation

Milan are a brilliant away side and will fancy their chances of leaving Anfield with a point. A draw would be a great result and one they are likely to play practically from the start.

If Ibrahimovic is left on the bench, Milan will have a good option to chase an equaliser so could remain quite defensive if trailing 1-0 and they look for a late goal to take a point.

Key Stats

Liverpool have won 8 of their last 9 PL matches

The Reds have kept 5 PL clean sheets in 6 PL matches

Liverpool have kept 3 clean sheets in a row at home in the CL

Milan have won their 3 matches in Serie A this season

Milan won 16 of their 19 away Serie A matches last season (D1, L2)

These sides’ two most recent meetings ended with over 2.5 goals (2-1 and 3-3)

Prediction

This should be a very good match. Liverpool are a cut above Milan right now and considering Van Dijk’s superb form, they could continue their run of clean sheets. A win to nil for Klopp’s team could be the best bet.