AC Milan vs Club Brugge

AC Milan’s underwhelming UEFA Champions League campaign continues at Stadio San Siro with a must-win encounter against Club Brugge.

For many, it was inconceivable that Milan would be the lowest-ranked Serie A club after the opening two Champions League rounds. Yet, back-to-back defeats to Liverpool (1-3) and Bayer Leverkusen (0-1) put ‘I Rossoneri’ in peril of bowing out of the competition’s group/league phase for the second season on the trot. Anything other than three points in their first meeting with Club Brugge would likely accelerate Milan’s downfall and pour more pressure on Paulo Fonseca despite a 1-0 home league win against Udinese at the weekend. Indeed, the Portuguese manager has overseen a stuttering start at San Siro since replacing Stefano Pioli in the dugout (W4, D2, L4). Neutrals should be in for a treat, nonetheless. Five of Milan’s last six Champions League outings at this stadium have featured over 2.5 goals.

While two other Benelux teams are holding onto their top-24 spots for dear life at the start of this matchday, Club Brugge recovered from a thumping 3-0 home loss to Liverpool on matchday one with a narrow 1-0 victory at Sturm Graz last time out. It was their fourth consecutive clean sheet in Champions League away action after remarkably keeping Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen at bay in scoreless draws during the 2022/23 campaign. More recently, they defied an underdog status to claim victories on two of their three Europa Conference League travels last season. Adding to Nicky Hayen’s confidence, his men take this trip amid a five-game unbeaten streak on the road (W4, D1), including a 2-1 league victory against Westerlo at the weekend.