Not a whole lot to say for this one so this pre-match preview will be a little underwhelming…
LAST FIVE
REAL MADRID: LWWWW
MILAN: WLWWL
FORMATIONS
REAL MADRID (4-3-1-2): Lunin; Vázquez, Militao, Rüdiger, Mendy; Valverde, Modric (C), Tchouaméni; Bellingham; Mbappe, Vinicius
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Royal, Thiaw, Tomori, Hernández (C); Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leão; Morata
TIME/LOCATION
TIME: 3pm EST/8pm GMT
PLACE: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain
WHERE TO WATCH:
Paramount + has your Champions League action in the US. Check your local listings.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
REAL MADRID
REAL MADRID
It’s Real Madrid. Since 2010 they’ve won La Liga 5 times, Champions League 6 times, UEFA Super Cup 5 times, FIFA Club World Cup 5 times, Copa del Rey 3 times, and the Supercopa de España 5 times. Milan? They have won 2 Scudettos during the same timeframe, essentially bookending this time period with a lot of terrible football in between. So there’s not much I can tell you that you don’t already know.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
ATTACK
Again, you know they have MBAPPE, BELLINGHAM, VINICIUS, RODRYGO and my own favorite, BRAHIM DIAZ. Even MODRIC nearing the end of his playing days has more quality than half of Milan’s starters.
DEFENSE
MILITAO and RÜDIGER anchor the defense and while COURTOIS is out LUNIN has been fine in goal. CAMAVINGA is their defensive stalwart in the midfield. Where Milan might find some success is attacking the fullbacks especially with CARVAJAL out until next season. Still, it’s an uphill battle attacking Real because you have to be so mindful while defending that it’s difficult to commit the bodies forward.
MILAN
MILAN
Fonseca says he has been saving Leão for a game like this but I’m calling bullsh*t. He’s been butchering his starting lineups and tries to play it off like it’s all going to plan. Is the plan going 6-2-5 to start the season across all competitions, winning 20 out of 39 possible points? Basta.
As to what Milan will try to do today, the only sane thing is to sit and try and counter. I don’t think the Milan defense will hold up but if Milan try to run with Real it’s going to be a bloodbath. Fonseca also seems allergic to playing the best possible lineup, but that would surely help.
All my other usual gripes remain but I’ll spare you the pain of reading them again.
PREDICTION TIME
Sitting back and countering I think Milan lose 2-1 because I think Real come out motivated since it’s Milan and the 0-4 beatdown Barcelona gave them the last time out. While my final score is close, I think Milan get the late goal to make it close on the scoreboard while not actually being close during the game. If Milan try and run with Real they’re going to lose 3-1/4-1/or even 5-1. That’s how little hope I have today (but, naturally I hope I’m wrong).
Micahel Lisi: If Leão starts he scores. But we lose late 2-1. I like BTTS and an over as well.
Lisi feeling optimistic, I see…
Forza Milan
gillis
***Update: Lineups are updated above and it’s a pretty good starting lineup, at least for Fonseca! Maybe he’s trying to shut me up???
There’s some confusion as to how they’ll line up, less the actual formation and where guys will be in the 4-2-3-1. FotMob has Musah in the double pivot and Reijnders as the CAM and Pulisic at RW. I think this is probably my #1 choice and it could alter my initial prediction for how this game will go. Basically, I think Milan will be more competitive even if they don’t win.
I’ve also seen a Milan-fan Twitter account with Reijnders in the double pivot, Musah as the CAM and Pulisic at RW. Finally, I’ve seen Reijnders in the double pivot, Pulisic as the CAM and Musah at RW. I think I like Musah as CAM the least but I’ll be curious to see how they line up.