This midweek promises a treat for football fans as the UEFA Champions League enjoys a long-awaited return to action. Games from European football’s most popular tournament will be played on Tuesday, and Wednesday, with the Round of 16 first-leg matches played to a conclusion. We then delve into the Europa League, and Conference League on Thursday before Premier League fixtures return this weekend. A frantic few days lie ahead, and our team of expert football writers offers their previews and predictions.
Tuesday’s schedule gives two cracking fixtures from the Champions League as AC Milan host Tottenham while PSG and Bayern Munich clash in Paris. Two great matches, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see any of the four teams mentioned blaze a trail of glory all the way to the final later this year. This page focuses on the match in Italy where Serie A side AC Milan welcomed English Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur for a finely poised game. The home team is eager to make their advantage count and take the lead to London, while Spurs aim to bag a vital away win that would place them in the driving seat.
Many respected pundits have predicted a home win, but the stats come down hard to support the visitors. These sides have met four times previously, with Tottenham unbeaten in that time, winning two and drawing the others. The most recent clash at this venue produced a narrow 1-0 win for the Londoners, with Peter Crouch nicking a winner near the end of the play. Spurs don’t have the benefit of a towering striker these days, but they do have something much better in Harry Kane, who is viewed by many as one of the best players on the planet. He’ll have a huge say in this game.
Milan held off Barca
AC Milan was pulled from the hat and dropped into Group E, finishing behind Chelsea but ahead of Salzburg and Zagreb. The Premier League team ran away with the pool, winning by three points following four wins, one draw, and a defeat. Milan was the best of the rest, ending four points better than Red Bull Salzburg, who looked out of their depth and have since dropped into the Europa League. It was far from plain sailing, but Milan did what they had to and got through.
Milan’s Champions League group stats showed the Italians won three games, draw one, and lost the other two, scoring ten goals but conceding seven. They would have accepted that fate before matchday one, as it was always known the Germans were going to control the division, leaving it to Milan and Barcelona to scrap it out for the silver medal position and a place in the next round. AC is here on merit, and having scraped through, they won’t want their dream to end at the first knockout stage. Milan has the players, experience, and fanbase to go far in this tournament if they can see off Spurs.
The home team enters this match with their tails in the air and will take confidence from the poor recent form of their opponents in England. But Milan hasn’t been any better of late in the Italian Serie A. They have won only one of their last six league games, losing three and drawing the spare. Those defeats came one after another before AC managed to steady the ship and get back on track. They warmed up for this game with a 1-0 home win over Torino on Friday evening. That was a game they were expected to win a little more comfortably, but they got their hands on the three points needed to stop the rot.
Spurs hold high hopes
Tottenham enter this match as the visitors and will aim to claim a draw or better in Italy to maximise their chances of going through when the tie comes to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the second leg. The English Premier League team hasn’t been at its best for much of 2023 so far, but they did catch the eye during the group phase of the Champions League, winning their pool to progress as champions. They were the most impressive side in Group D, where they held off the attention of last season’s Europa League winners. Knockout football now looms large.
The Brits claimed their pool without encountering too much fuss along the way, claiming 11 points to progress ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt, who ended with one point less, while Sporting Lisbon posted a third-place finish and dropped into the Europa League. The bottom club in that pool was Marseille, who promised much but failed to get out of the starting blocks. The stats of three wins, two draws, and a defeat aren’t exactly impressive, but it was enough to go through.
Like their opponents, Tottenham has endured a tough time domestically and can be found in fifth place in the EPL. Their stats show Spurs have won three, lost three of their last six, and were beaten by Leicester City at the weekend. A trip to the King Power Stadium was expected to produce an away win, but the Foxes claimed a stunning 4-1 victory. That ranks as dreadful preparation for this game, but the players must dust themselves down and come again. Fans and the coaching staff demand improvement.
AC Milan v Tottenham prediction
Which team will grab the advantage and take the lead into the second leg? Both have been poor in their respective leagues this season but enjoy the distraction of Champions League football. If both are at their best, Tottenham is good enough to go through but may have to settle for a draw in the first leg.
Champions League odds
Pre-game betting odds available at 22bet has AC Milan priced at 2.515 with Tottenham 2.968 and the draw 3.144.
Make sure to bet on AC Milan v Tottenham with 22Bet!
