UEFA Champions League Preview: Real Madrid vs Milan – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

The most exciting UEFA Champions League match-up on paper pits Real Madrid and Milan against each other at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Tuesday’s clash in the Spanish capital brings together the record 15-time European champions and the seven-time winners, second only to Los Blancos in the all-time tally.

Real Madrid got the better of Borussia Dortmund in last season’s Champions League final to go eight titles clear of their nearest competitors. Carlo Ancelotti’s side faced the same opposition in the previous round and had to overcome a two-goal halftime deficit to take three points.

Vinicius Junior’s second-half hat-trick inspired Los Merengues to a thumping 5-2 win, helping them bounce back from a shock 1-0 loss at Lille on matchday two. However, it’s redemption time in Madrid. The reigning La Liga holders slumped to a humiliating 4-0 defeat to arch-rivals Barcelona in the latest edition of El Clasico a week ago.

With devastating flash floods in Spain postponing their encounter against Valencia, Real Madrid will aim to put fresh legs to good use. While their hosts had a weekend off, Milan had to go above and beyond to take three points against Monza in Serie A. Tijjani Reijnders’ first-half header fired the Rossoneri to a narrow 1-0 triumph at Stadio Brianteo.

But under-pressure Milan manager Paulo Fonseca isn’t off the hook yet. His team’s performance against the relegation-fighting opponent flattered to deceive, though it did help them reduce the gap on table-topping Napoli to eight points. With a game in hand on Antonio Conte’s side, they’re still theoretically in the Scudetto race.

Match Preview

Real Madrid

Multi-goal margin victories against Dortmund and Stuttgart sandwiched Real Madrid’s underwhelming loss in France. Yet, Ancelotti’s men have failed to impress this season. Milan’s visit must feel like a presentable opportunity to reignite joy at the Bernabeu from Los Merengues’ perspective.

They’ve emerged victorious from five of the last seven meetings between the teams at this venue (D1, L1). On top of that scintillating run, Real Madrid have reigned supreme in their European fixtures against Italian clubs, winning 17 of their last 18 matches against Serie A opposition (L1), including a 2-0 triumph against Atalanta in August’s UEFA Super Cup.

Furthermore, before Barcelona inflicted Real Madrid’s first La Liga defeat since October 2023, Ancelotti’s charges had won their opening seven competitive home outings this season. Each victory notably saw them score at least two goals, with six yielding multi-goal margins, suggesting this could be a long evening for Milan.

Milan

In addition to their domestic wobble, last season’s Serie A runners-up have massively struggled on the continental front. Before a 3-1 home win against ten-man Club Brugge, Milan had lost their first two Champions League fixtures under Fonseca, going down to Bayern Leverkusen (0-1) and Liverpool (1-3).

Therefore, Milan must punch above their weight in Madrid to increase their hopes of securing automatic knockout qualification. However, Spain hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Italian powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination. Au contraire, they lament a torrid record of just five wins from 38 previous visits to the Iberian country (D7, L16).

As if that’s not concerning enough, they’ve stuttered on their recent European travels, failing to find the back of the net in four of their last five Champions League away games (W1, D1, L3). But they’ll take this trip with renewed optimism after posting their first competitive triumph outside Stadio San Siro under Fonseca (D1, L3).

Team News

Real Madrid will be without long-term absentee David Alaba and captain Dani Carvajal, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury during October’s international break. First-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has yet to fully recover from a muscle strain, meaning Andriy Lunin will likely take his place between the sticks.

As for Milan, Ismael Bennacer, Alessandro Florenzi, Matteo Gabbia, and Luka Jovic are unavailable for this trip. Standout winger Rafael Leao will probably return to the starting XI at the expense of Noah Okafor after starting the last three Serie A matches on the bench.

Real Madrid vs Milan Potential Starting Line-ups

Real Madrid (4-3-1-2): Andriy Lunin; Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy; Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric; Jude Bellingham; Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe.

Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Emerson Royal, Malick Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Youssouf Fofana; Christian Pulisic, Tijjani Reijnders, Rafael Leao; Alvaro Morata.

Real Madrid vs Milan Prediction

Given the circumstances, a point would be like a win for Milan. However, despite winning at the weekends, the Italians are seemingly bereft of confidence, leading us to believe that Real Madrid will stroll to a routine victory.