AC Milan find themselves locked on four points after a perfect split of results (W1, D1, L1) in the group stage so far, but a return to the San Siro where Milan beat Juventus 2-0 in Serie A at the weekend should instil some belief the Italian giants can avenge last week’s 3-0 UCL defeat against Chelsea in the reverse.
That defeat in London made it four-successive losses against Premier League (PL) opposition for Milan, and with six defeats from their last seven occasions hosting English sides, it’s hard to see that run ending here. A record of five wins from six (L1) in all competitions at home this season can build some belief, but with just two clean sheets across those games, Milan’s attack may need to be firing on all cylinders.
Like their hosts, Chelsea collected a domestic home win at the weekend, cruising past Wolves 3-0 in the PL despite fielding a heavily rotated side.
New Chelsea boss Graham Potter will now hope those rested players justify his decision on their return to ensure Chelsea take another step closer to an 18th UCL knockout appearance from their last 19 top European tier campaigns.
Crucially, Potter still remains unbeaten as Chelsea boss (W3, D1) and you would fancy him to extend that run further here given the Blues have lost just three of their last 23 European away fixtures (W15, D5).
One of those defeats was this term though against Dinamo Zagreb (1-0), and while Chelsea haven’t lost back-to-back UCL away games since 2012, one victory in their last 11 away games against Serie A opposition (D3, L7) hints that record could come under threat at the San Siro.
