Paris Saint-Germain vs AC Milan
Now here is a Champions League encounter to make you think.
In the home corner, a team which craves the title of European champions and which has invested so much over the past decade or so, it should have at least one title in the bag.
In the away corner, a side which craves the feeling of yesteryear when it was top dog, not just in Italy but in Europe and the world over with sides which made you purr.
Both are now quite a way from where they want to be but that’s not to say they can’t deliver Champions League 2023 highlights on Wednesday night.
Talking Points
Both teams certainly could do with victory.
PSG opened their group stage campaign with a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, but they were brought back down to earth with a bang in their second game.
That was when a raucous St James’ Park inspired Newcastle United to a 4-1 thrashing over the Parisiens.
As they look to recover from that, they can take heart from the statistic which shows they haven’t lost consecutive games in the same group stage since 2004/05.
Team news wise, Marco Asensio is not ready for a first team return, and defender Nuno Mendes remains sidelined until the start of 2024. Yet, boss Luis Enrique could look to bring in Spanish international Fabian Ruiz to bolster the midfield.
He played and scored in their 3-0 Ligue 1 success over Strasbourg at the weekend, a match which featured another strike from Kylian Mbappe, who notched his seventh league goal of the fledgling season.
AC Milan had a much tougher domestic assignment in preparation for midweek as they hosted Juventus at the San Siro on Sunday night.
Manuel Locatelli secured a 1-0 win for Juve with a second-half strike, after the hosts were reduced to 10 men when the defender Malick Thiaw received a straight red card.
A relatively slow-paced match took a surprising turn five minutes before the break when Thiaw received his marching orders for a last-man foul on Moise Kean.
With the numerical advantage, Juve took charge and Locatelli scored in the 63rd minute with a deflected long-range shot off Rade Krunic, catching the Milan goalkeeper, Antonio Mirante, off guard.
It capped off a disappointing night for the injury-hit Rossoneri as they missed the chance to go top.
To give you an example, Milan’s third choice goalkeeper, 40 year-old Mirante, started due to Mike Maignan and Marco Sportiello’s absence.
Midfield pair Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Rade Krunic are both struggling with muscle injuries for Stefano Piloi’s men, and it remains to be seen if they will be fit enough to be considered for the trip to the French capital.
They will hope for as full a quota of top players as possible as they trail PSG by a point in the group, although are still unbeaten following goalless draws against both Newcastle and Dortmund.
Only once in Champions League history has a team had three consecutive goalless draws, and that was Club Brugge between November 2018 and September 2019 — across two group stage campaigns.
Unlike the prolific Mbappe who, since the start of 2017/18 has been involved in more Champions League group stage goals than any other player (46), Milan have failed to score in their last four Champions League matches.
Furthermore, PSG have lost just one of their last 34 Champions League group stage home matches and have won their last three games against Italian sides in all competitions.
It all points to a home win for the big spenders of Paris against the club from Milan, who so often set the benchmark and have a genuine attacking talent of their own in Rafael Leao but are a shadow of the team they once were.
History
AC Milan are unbeaten against PSG, including victories in both legs of the semi-finals in the 1994/95 Champions League.
A last gasp Zvonimir Boban goal earned Milan victory in Paris before they secured a 3-0 aggregate success thanks to a Dejan Savicevic double in the second leg.
Six years later, there were a pair of 1-1 draws in the second group stage.
On that occasion, Leonardo opened the scoring for Milan before Nicolas Anelka quickly levelled against the home side who finished with 10 men.
The return saw Laurent Robert and Jose Mari, with a last-minute equaliser, trade goals.
Milan last won the Champions League in 2007, while PSG’s sole final appearance saw them edged out by Bayern Munich three years ago.
Betting Tip
For a side with a fine home record in this competition, the SBOTOP Champions League betting odds back the French champions.
They can be tipped both 1X2 @ 1.79 and Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 2.05. By contrast, Milan are out 1X2 @ 3.75 and Asian Handicap +0.50 @ 2.12.
The draw is on offer @ 3.65, while another 1-1 draw will pay out @ 6.60 with Correct Score.
If Milan are to play out a third successive goalless European encounter, then a 0-0 scoreline will secure you a pay day of @ 12.00.
Goal options range from total goals 0-1 @ 3.90 to 4-6 @ 3.10 and over 2.75 @ 1.96.
I am going to predict PSG to claim a first-ever win against Milan in this one.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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