The Champions League group round is rapidly approaching its pivotal point, which will see Milan take on PSG on Tuesday night from San Siro. With the Rossoneri failing to win any of their previous four competitive games, head coach Stefano Pioli is beginning to feel the heat.
Visitor Paris Saint-Germain, on the other hand, is beginning to gel under Spanish manager Luis Enrique and comes into the massive match fresh off five straight victories. Currently leading Group F, Les Parisiens overcame a tough 4-1 setback on the road against Newcastle United to defeat Milan 3-0 at Parc des Princes in their most recent European match.
Milan, last year’s semifinalists in the Champions League, will feel as though they must find a way to get all three points in this match if they hope to advance to the knockout stages after only managing to accumulate two points so far in their season. For PSG, it doesn’t seem to be as big of a deal, but the group is still open. As we get ready for Milan vs. PSG, read our preview below.
Preview of Milan
Milan appeared to be off to a great start in 2023–24 after winning seven of their first eight Serie A games. Still, a 5-1 loss to cross-town rivals Inter in the Derby della Madonnina ought to have sounded the alarm. Maybe the strong start to the campaign covered up the problems, since the Rossoneri are currently having trouble.
In their last four games across all competitions, Pioli’s team has lost three of them and is winless overall. For Milan, this is undoubtedly a frightening period. After losing to Napoli by two goals to one at the end of the month, it appeared as though they were able to turn things around. But they let up two in the process, and they couldn’t hang on to the victory, leading the contest to a 2-2 draw in the second half. Milan currently sits six points behind Inter in Serie A and faces elimination from the competition if they can’t turn things around quickly.
Milan has now suffered consecutive losses at San Siro as well. They lost 1-0 to Udinese unexpectedly over the weekend after disappointingly losing to Juventus at home at the end of October. That was also Udinese’s first victory of the campaign, which added insult to injury. After three Champions League games without a goal or a victory, Milan must at least find the back of the net when they welcome PSG to San Siro on Tuesday. It’s crucial to get three points, and the Rossoneri need to start picking up steam right now.
Player to watch: Olivier Giroud.
Milan has struggled to score lately, going without a point in three of their past four games. The final player to score for the home team was Olivier Giroud, who had just finished with two goals against Napoli, the Italian champions. On Tuesday, the Rossoneri will need him to be at his best.
PSG Preview
Due to a sluggish start to the season, PSG is currently not at the top of Ligue 1. Even so, PSG appears to be back to their best, trailing Nice by just one point. Before this one, Enrique had led his team to five straight wins, so they appear to be in excellent form. Vitinha, Warren Zaire-Emery, and Lee Kang-In scored goals to lead PSG to a 3-0 victory over Montpellier over the weekend.
The club seems to have turned a round after losing 4-1 on the road to Newcastle at the beginning of October. PSG has scored 15 goals overall and had three clean sheets since that loss, with three goals in each of their last five games. They have successfully combined defense and attack in their last three home games, winning by a score of 3-0. After winning the rematch 3-0 against Milan, PSG has assumed command of Group F.
Despite having only one clean sheet in their six away games this season, Les Parisiens are still prone to giving up goals on the road. In their most recent away game, they overcame Brest 3-2, thanks in part to a late goal from Kylian Mbappe. The French team’s trip to Milan on Tuesday will not be simple, and it appears that this game will be crucial to the group.
Player To Watch: Warren Zaire-Emery
Head-To-Head
PSG’s resounding victory over Milan last month was actually their first ever. Prior to that game, the Rossoneri had a record of two victories and two draws, but their winning run over the French team has now come to an end.
Potential lineups and team news for Milan vs PSG
Milan (4-3-3): Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Malick Thiaw, Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rade Krunic, Tijjani Reijnders; Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud, Rafael Leao
The hosts are set to welcome back two key players for the match here. Theo Hernandez and Christian Pulisic were unable to feature against Udinese but will be able to play in this one. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was also able to make an appearance off the bench at the weekend, playing his first minutes since September.
However, Pioli will still be unable to call upon the services of Ismael Bennacer, Mattia Caldara, Marco Pellegrino, Marco Sportiello, and Simon Kjaer. Pierre Kalalu will be absent for the next few months after undergoing surgery, which is a big blow. Samuel Chukwueze is expected to be able to return, though, bolstering the options out wide for the home side.
PSG (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Milan Skriniar, Lucas Hernandez; Vitinha, Manuel Ugarte, Warren Zaire-Emery; Ousmane Dembele, Randal Kolo Muani, Kylian Mbappe
Enrique has often utilized a 4-2-2-2 system this season, and that is the formation he has deployed over the last two matches. However, they were left too open when playing like that against Newcastle, so it is likely that PSG will return to a three-man midfield, like during the reverse fixture last month.
Marco Asensio, Presnel Kimpembe, Nuno Mendes, Keylor Navas, Danilo Pereira, and Sergio Rico were all absent for the game against Montpellier at the weekend, and they are all expected to remain out for the trip to Milan.
PSG versus Milan Prediction
The Milan supporters’ goal is to make the PSG crowd angry, especially as Gianluigi Donnarumma makes his way back to San Siro. The home crowd’s ability to influence Milan’s outcome in this crucial encounter for qualification might be enormous.
Milan has a better chance of winning because several important players are back. But it looks like the away team is too strong for the hosts to win all three points.
Milan 1-1 PSG
