Two of Europe’s most historic clubs come to blows tonight, as Real Madrid host AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu.
After their fixture at Valencia was postponed due to the severe flooding in the region, Real Madrid’s last game was their embarrassing 4-0 home defeat to Barcelona in El Clásico.
First-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is back in training following a back problem but Tuesday night’s game will likely come too soon for the Belgian. David Alaba and Dani Carvajal remain sidelined with anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Milan will be looking to resurrect their Champions League campaign after losing two of their opening three games in the competition.
Algerian midfielder Ismael Bennacer is edging closer to his return from an ankle injury which has reduced him to only two appearances this season.
Some absolute ICONS have played for both Real Madrid & AC Milan ⚪️🔴 pic.twitter.com/JlISW2DFuE
— LiveScore (@livescore) November 5, 2024
Real Madrid vs AC Milan – Match preview and team news
Form
Real Madrid: LWWWL
A fortnight has passed since their humiliating home defeat to Barcelona, which has given Carlo Ancelotti and his players a time to mull over the inexcusable result.
Vinicius Junior will also have a point to prove after the Brazilian was snubbed for the Ballon d’OR, voted as runner=up behind Manchester City midfielder Rodri.
The Champions League holders have not looked convincing in their three European games thus far and relied on individual brilliance to defeat Borussia Dortmund last time out.
🙌 IT’S MATCHDAY! 🙌
🆚 @acmilan
🕰️ 21:00 CET
🏟️ Santiago Bernabéu
#️⃣ #UCL pic.twitter.com/i3DCbAmJn4— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) November 5, 2024
They also left it late on the opening night against Stuttgart before falling to a shock away defeat to Lille. In La Liga, they trail Hansi Flick’s Barcelona by nine points, though have a game in hand.
Milan: LWWLW
Paulo Fonseca’s early tenure at Milan has been underwhelming with the 19-time Scudetto winners currently eight points adrift of league leaders Napoli.
Their Champions League campaign has also not gone according to plan, having already lost twice.
After taking an early lead against Liverpool, I Rossoneri wilted under the pressure to succumb to a 3-1 defeat. Bayer Leverkusen then beat them 1-0 in Germany before Milan got their season back on track with a routine home win over Club Brugge.
The Italian side enters this mammoth clash with some positive momentum after narrowly beating Monza away from home at the weekend.
Last Meeting: Milan 2-2 Real Madrid, Champions League, 3rd November 2010
Tonight’s game will be the first meeting between the teams in a competitive match since 2010.
Two star-studded European heavyweights matched each other at one of the continent’s greatest venues – the San Siro.
Gonzalo Higuain gave Real Madrid the lead on the stroke of half-time as the Argentine beat the offside trap before slipping the ball past Christian Abbiati.
However, Filippo Inzaghi turned the deficit around with two goals in ten minutes. His first was one of the easiest goals of his illustrious career, as Iker Casillas made a mess of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s cross to present Inzaghi with the simple task of helping the ball over the line from two yards out.
Casillas’ nervy period continued as he raced out of his goal to allow Inzaghi to poke the ball past the Spaniard.
Pedro Leon made sure Jose Mourinho’s side did not return home empty-handed as he struck in the 90th minute to rescue a result for Real Madrid.
Predicted Lineups
Real Madrid: Lunin; Vazquez, Rudiger, Militao, Mendy; Modric, Camavinga, Valverde, Bellingham; Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.
Milan: Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Tomori, Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Morata.
Who is the referee?
Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić will be the match official. He will be assisted by Tomaž Klančnik and Andraž Kovačič while Matej Jug will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Pol van Boekel and he will be assisted by Tiago Martins.
What channel will Real Madrid vs Milan be on?
Real Madrid’s clash with Milan will be available to watch on TNT Sports 4 and Discovery+.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu will be at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday 5th November 2024.
Odds
Real Madrid – 4/9
Draw – 15/4
Milan – 11/2
Read – Five talking points ahead of the Champions League action
See more – Five of the best players to play for Real Madrid and AC Milan