Champions League Round Of 16: Milan – Tottenham

Milan halted or perhaps paused the crisis level form of 2023 with a 1-0 win versus Torino. Concerns remain and weeks and months old questions about the state of the team are still valid. For now however, the team is back in the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in nearly a decade. Tottenham are the opponents with the first leg at the San Siro.

The injury situation is somewhat alleviated with Tomori back in the squad but Ibra is not registered for the Champions League squad even though he is nearing a return to the pitch. Florenzi, Bennacer and Maignan remain out. The expected lineup will again feature a back three as in the Torino match. Thiaw, Tomori and Kalulu are set to be the starters. Facing Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min their shape and form will go a long way in deciding this tie. In the middle it looks like Saelemaekers will start with Krunic, Tonali and Theo to his left. Tottenham will miss Rodrigo Bentancur through long term injury and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to suspension. Therefore the battle for the middle has both teams missing important players. Upfront Milan will continue to rely on Giroud with Leao and likely Diaz as the support in a predicted 3-4-2-1. The two teams share another commonality as Hugo Lloris is out of action for the visitors and this tie has been dubbed as the battle of the number 2s with Tatarusanu facing another veteran in Fraser Forster.

Both teams sit in 5th place in the Serie A and English Premier League with Tottenham suffering a poor 4-1 loss at Leicester on Friday.

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