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Prediction: AC Milan to win 3-0
Best Odds: 33/4
AC Milan and Girona will lock horns with each other in the UEFA Champions League this week. The League Stage game between the Serie A club and the La Liga outfit will be held at San Siro and is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time on Wednesday.
AC Milan
AC Milan are one of the biggest clubs in the world and are aiming for a successful season. The Rossoneri are looking to do well on the domestic front as well as in Europe.
Things are not going so well for Milan on the domestic front. The Rossoneri are as low as eighth in the Serie A table with 31 points from 20 matches and are eight points behind fourth-placed Lazio. Milan are way too behind Napoli to challenge for the Scudetto.
Milan, though, are doing very well in the UEFA Champions League. After losing their opening two League Stage fixtures, they have won their last four and are now 16th with 12 points from six matches. Being just a point behind eighth-placed Benfica, Milan could still end up qualifying automatically for the Round of 16 stage.
Team News:
Christian Pulisic trained alone on Tuesday and is unlikely to start the UEFA Champions League match against Girona. Malick Thiaw, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Samuel Chukwueze will not feature, and neither will Alessandro Florenzi. Fikayo Tomori is suspended, but Alvaro Morata is back after serving his ban. Mike Maignan will be in goal for Milan and will have Emerson Royal, Matteo Gabbia, Strahinja Pavlovic and Theo Hernandez in front of him in defence. Youssouf Fofana and Ismael Bennacer will be the two holding midfielders. Ismael Bennacem Tijjani Reijnders and Rafael Leao will be the three attacking midfielders. Morata will lead the line for Milan.
Girona
Girona are a modest club in Spain who shocked the country last season by finishing third in La Liga. There was a point when they could have ended up even higher in the standings.
Michel’s side, though, are unlikely to reach those dizzy heights this time around. While Girona have not completely collapsed, they are not going to challenge for the Champions League places in the La Liga table. Blanquivermells are currently eighth in the standings with 28 points from 20 matches, as many as 11 points behind fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
Girona have been very poor in the Champions League. They have picked up just three points from their six matches and are as low as 29th in the League Stage table. It is going to take a huge effort for Girona to even come into contention for a place in the Round of 16 of Europe’s premier club competition this season.
Team News:
Girona are likely to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against AC Milan. Paulo Gazzaniga will be in goal and will have Arnau Martinez, David Lopez, Ladislav Krejci and Daley Blind in front of him in defence. Oriol Romeo and Ivan Martin will be the two holding midfielders. Viktor Tsygankov, Yaser Asprilla and Bryan Gill will be the three attacking midfielders. Abel Ruiz will lead the line for Girona.
Key Factors to Consider
- AC Milan have won their last 4 UEFA Champions League matches.
- AC Milan have scored 12 goals in 6 UEFA Champions League matches.
- Christian Pulisic has scored 3 goals and given 1 assist in 5 UEFA Champions League appearances for AC Milan so far this season.
- Girona have scored 5 goals and conceded 4 goals in 6 UEFA Champions League games this season.
- Girona have lost 5 of their 6 UEFA Champions League games this season.
Conclusion
Girona have been dire in the UEFA Champions League this season, and AC Milan are likely to register a comfortable win against the Spanish club. The Rossineri are at home for the match and are also in much better form in Europe’s premier club competition.
Prediction: AC Milan to win 3-0
Best Odds: 33/4
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