Football Predictions
Newcastle return to the Champions League landed them in a tough group with their first game being against AC Milan on Tuesday.
While the Magpies snapped a three-game losing run to defeat Brentford in their most recent Premier League affair, the Rossoneri were humiliated by old foes Inter Milan but this one will be a game of different dimensions considering both team’s ambitions in the competition.
An imminent European sojourn may have been playing on the minds of Howe’s crop during their miserable run of results, as the Magpies gear up for their first Champions League match since the summer of 2003, where their qualifying journey ended with a penalty-shootout loss to Partizan.
H2H/Stats
Back in the days of two group stages in 2002-03, Newcastle did make a San Siro stopover to meet Inter, where an Alan Shearer brace was in vain as the Nerazzurri came back to draw 2-2, but Tuesday’s game will mark their first competitive meeting with Milan before Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund await later on in a mouthwatering Group F.
Team News
The hosts were without centre-back Pierre Kalulu in their loss to Inter over the weekend due to a thigh concern while Ismael Bennacer is on the long road to recovery from knee surgery. The suspended Fikayo Tomori watched from the sidelines but the England international is eligible to return on Tuesday and could take the place of Malick Thiaw.
The Rossoneri will also be reunited with one of their former troops in Sandro Tonali, whose reunion with Milan was in jeopardy when he sustained an injury during the international break, but the Italian was able to make the bench against Brentford and should be reintroduced into the XI this week.
Joe Willock (calf) nor Emil Krafth (knee) will be involved for their side’s Champions League opener, while Howe has conceded that Joelinton will not be available for Tuesday’s encounter owing to the knee injury he picked up while playing for Brazil.
Probable Line-Ups
AC Milan XI: Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Kjaer, Hernandez; Reijnders, Krunic, Loftus-Cheek; Chukwueze, Giroud, Leao
Newcastle United XI: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Tonali, Guimaraes; Gordon, Isak, Barnes
Verdict
This is one of the games that will be closely contested but Milan’s experience in the competition should see them carry the day.
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