PREDICTED LINE-UPS | Milan v Newcastle United

Coming on the back of a humiliating defeat against neighbourhood rivals Inter, Milan will aim to make things right and respect the faith of their fans when they meet Newcastle United today at the San Siro in a Champions League group stage clash.

Milan were flying high into the new season until the Milan Derby in their previous match. The Rossoneri haven’t been able to find the right pace against Inter in recent matches and therefore followed a 5-1 drubbing. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marcus Thuram, Hakan Calhanoglu and Davide Frattesi all made their names up on the scoresheet as only Rafael Leao could get a consolation for Milan. Curva Sud of the San Siro were angered by their manager’s refusal of an apology for the performance and Stefano Pioli has a chance on his hands to build things properly today in the Champions League. 

Meanwhile, Newcastle United make their appearance in Europe’s top-flight competition for the first time in twenty years. The Magpies started the season strongly, recording a 5-1 win against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa but soon fell down into a losing run for three straight matches. However, a Callum Wilson penalty strike in their last game in the Premier League ensured a victory and a departure from the downward trend. Eddie Howe took the Newcastle United team to the Carabao Cup final last season and secured Champions League football. It will be exciting to see how the team progress this campaign too. 

Here are the predicted line-ups for the match according to Sky Italia:

Milan (4-3-3): Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Loftus-Cheek, Krunic, Pobega; Chukwueze, Giroud, Leao

Newcastle United (4-3-3):  Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn;  Bruno Guimaraes, Longstaff, Tonali; Almiron, Isak, Gordon

Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN