Football
AC Milan Vs Liverpool Predicted Lineups As New-Look Champions League Gets Underway
James is an experienced writer covering a wide range of sports. He has previously written for national UK titles and now provides detailed features and breaking news stories.
Get to know James Chittick betterPublished16 Sep 2024
With the Champions League back this week in an all-new format, here’s our Milan Vs Liverpool predicted lineups ahead of Tuesday’s opening fixtures.
New Reds boss Arne Slot suffered his first defeat of the season on Saturday as his side were beaten 1-0 at home by Nottingham Forest.
The loss sees Liverpool drop to fourth in the Premier League table, three points below leaders Manchester City.
The champions are now the only team to win all four of their opening games, and Liverpool will hope to keep the pressure on with a win against Bournemouth on Saturday.
But first, they must negotiate a tricky Champions League opener in Milan. Tuesday’s game kicks off at 8:00pm in the San Siro.
The hosts have made a poor start to their Serie A campaign, winning just one of their first four games.
But a 4-0 victory over Venezia at the weekend may be the catalyst they need to start building some momentum.
The two sides have met on four previous occasions, with Liverpool winning three times.
Most famous of course was the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul, where the Reds came back from a 3-0 deficit in the second half to win 6-5 on penalties.
They would meet again in the final two years later, with Milan the victors in 2007. The pair last met in Champions League Group B during the 2021/22 season, with Liverpool winning both games.
Milan Team News
Paulo Fonesca’s Rossoneri will be without several players for the visit of Liverpool this week. Ismael Bennacer (ankle), Alessandro Florenzi (ACL) and Marco Sportiello (ligament) are all out, though the latter would have still been behind starting goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Malick Thiaw is struggling with an ankle sprain, with the German defender still a major doubt for Tuesday. Davide Calabria meanwhile is in a race to be fit for the midweek game after missing out against Venezia.
Chances are that without further injury problems, Fonesca will keep much of the same team that won at the weekend. Former Chelsea stars Pulisic and Loftus-Cheek should therefore start, alongside ex-Blues teammate Tammy Abraham.
Liverpool Team News
Reds new-boy Federico Chiesa could make his Liverpool debut back in his homeland after missing out against Forest at the weekend. The Italian’s introduction is being carefully managed by Arne Slot.
But with limited training time before Tuesday’s game, it seems more likely he will feature from the bench.
Harvey Elliot remains sidelined with a broken foot, meaning Cody Gakpo will probably start on the opposite flank to Mohamed Salah.
Dutchman Gakpo did not make much impact from the Bench agaisnt Forest, but he and Darwin Nunez may well move into the starting XI, with Slot keen to freshen up his squad after just a 72-hour turnaround.
Milan Vs Liverpool Predicted Lineups:
Milan predicted lineup:
Maignan; Emerson, Gabbia, Pavlovic, Hernandez; Reijnders, Fofana, Loftus-Cheek; Pulisic, Abraham, Leao
Liverpool predicted lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Nunez