One win out of 14 games in Italy: All the key stats ahead of Milan vs. Red Star | OneFootball

AC Milan return to Champions League action tonight with a rather simple aim in mind: beat Red Star at San Siro and continue pursuing the top eight spots.

Defeats against Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen to begin the UCL campaign have been followed up by wins over Club Brugge, Real Madrid and Slovan Bratislava. That means a spot in the top eight and direct qualification for the last 16 is well within reach.

However, tonight they face a Red Star team that won their last European game 5-1 against Stuttgart and have won all but one league game, amassing a +46 goal difference. Thus, they cannot underestimate the Serbs.

Our pre-match preview has the latest team news, opposition insight and a prediction, while below are the key stats ahead of the game.

Key facts and stats

➤ Milan have faced Crvena Zvezda on six previous occasions in Europe, going unbeaten across each of those matches (W2 D4). Including qualifiers, the only side they’ve faced more times in European competition without ever losing is Sparta Prague (8).

➤ Crvena Zvezda have only won one of their 14 away matches against Italian sides in Europe (D4 L9), with that lone victory coming against Chievo in October 2002 in the UEFA Cup (2-0).

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➤ Milan have won their last three UEFA Champions League matches, more than in their previous 11 games combined (W2 D3 L6). They last won four in a row between February and April 2005 (5).

➤ Crvena Zvedza ended a run of 14 consecutive UEFA Champions League games without a win (D1 L13) with a 5-1 win over Stuttgart on MD5. They haven’t won consecutive games in the European Cup since doing so in 1991-92 (three in a row), when they were the reigning champions.

➤ Milan have scored exactly three goals in each of their last three UEFA Champions League games, their best run in the European Cup since between April and September 1989. They’ve never scored 3+ goals in four games in a row in the European Cup/Champions League.

➤ Only Borussia Dortmund (6) have scored more goals via substitutes than Crvena Zvezda (5) in the UEFA Champions League this season. Substitutes have scored with five of their 13 shots for the Serbian side (38%), compared to four goals from 33 shots from the starting players (12%).

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

➤ Since the start of last season, Rafael Leão leads all Milan players in major European competition for goals and assists combined (5 goals, 4 assists), shots attempted (36), dribbles (93) and ball carry distance (3,377m). He’s looking to score in consecutive UEFA Champions League appearances for the first time.

➤ Silas Katompa Mvumpa has scored in each of his last two UEFA Champions League appearances for Crvena Zvezda – the last player to net in three in a row in the European Cup for the club was Dejan Savicevic in March/April 1991.

➤ Should Crvena Zvezda’s Andrija Maksimovic start against Milan (17y 188d on the day of the game), he will be the youngest player in UEFA Champions League history to see each of his first five appearances in the competition come as start, a record previously held by Vincent Kompany for RSC Anderlecht (17y 244d).