Liverpool vs AC Milan LIVE: Champions League team news, line-ups and more tonight
The Champions League continues tonight and Premier League side Liverpool start their group campaign at home to AC Milan.
Despite the two clubs being among the most successful handful of teams in European Cup history, they have only ever met twice in competitive games – the 2005 and 2007 Champions League finals. This occasion, then, will be a rather different one and a first visit for the Serie A giants to Anfield. Neither one has lost a match yet this term, with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds in the group level on points at the top of the Premier League and the Rossoneri similarly positioned in Italy’s top flight.
This fixture marks a return for Milan to Europe’s top competition after a nine-year absence, while Liverpool were champions in 2019 and exited last year at the quarter-final stage against Real Madrid. They’ll be hoping to go further this year, though, given the defensive absences through injury they had to cope with at the time and the subsequent signing of Ibrahima Konate to boost their ranks.
Follow live updates of the Champions League Group B encounter between Liverpool and AC Milan below:
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Liverpool vs Italy
Liverpool have a decent home record against Italian teams in European competition. They’ve played 14 games at Anfield, won eight, drawn once and lost five times.
Although last season’s loss to Atalanta made it three defeats in the last seven of such fixtures.
In European finals Liverpool have met Italian clubs in four times and have a 50% win record. They were victorious against Roma in 1984 and AC Milan in 2005 but lost to Juventus in 1985 and AC Milan in 2007.
Fortress Anfield
Under Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool have only lost one of their 12 group stage games in the Champions League at Anfield with nine wins and two draws, averaging 2.5 goals per game in such fixtures.
Klopp on Zlatan
He’s not in the Milan squad for this game but Zlatan Ibrahimovic is always on the mind. Before the news broke that he was out of the game Jurgen Klopp was asked about how to handle the 39-year-old and he had nothing but compliments.
“Zlatan. What a player,” Klopp said. “I saw videos of him when he got injured a few months ago and saw him on the spinning bike and fighting back saying ‘Lions don’t rest long’ or whatever [he said].
“He’s a man for exceptional moments. If he’s not playing, Olivier Giroud will play or [Ante] Rebic will play. All really good players.
“Zlatan is one of the best players this game has ever seen. He knows that and he says that to everybody and I like that about him.
“Some careers end even when there is still a bit of fuel in the tank but he squeezes every drop out of his body. He is capable of playing in each league in the world and that is exceptional.”
Liverpool vs AC Milan prediction: How will Champions League fixture play out tonight?
The Champions League continues tonight and Premier League side Liverpool start their group campaign at home to AC Milan.
Despite the two clubs being among the most successful handful of teams in European Cup history, they have only ever met twice in competitive games – the 2005 and 2007 Champions League finals.
This occasion, then, will be a rather different one and a first visit for the Serie A giants to Anfield. Neither one has lost a match yet this term, with Jurgen Klopp’s Reds in the group level on points at the top of the Premier League and the Rossoneri similarly positioned in Italy’s top flight.
Liverpool vs AC Milan prediction: How the fixture play out tonight?
All you need to know as AC Milan travel to Anfield in the Champions League
A long wait for Milan
AC Milan are making their first appearance in the Champions League group stage since 2013-14. This is the 18th time they have featured and they are just four behind Juventus’s Italian record of 22.
Milan’s last 11 Champions League campaigns have all extended into the knockout rounds, although five of the last six ended in the round of 16.
In their last Champions League campaign the Rossoneri were beaten by Atlético Madrid in the last 16 having finished second in their group behind Barcelona, picking up nine points from their six matches.
But now, the seven-time European Cup champions are back and they stand in Liverpool’s way.
Liverpool under Klopp
Liverpool are in the Champions League group stage for the 14th time; they have only failed to progress to the last 16 or further three times before.
This is the Red’s fifth successive group campaign under Jürgen Klopp. They finished as runners-up to Real Madrid in the 2017-18 final and claimed their sixth European Cup at the expense of Tottenham with a 2-0 victory in the 2018-19 final.
Liverpool’s last two Champions League campaigns have ended in defeat against clubs from Madrid. They went out to Atlético in the 2019-20 round of 16 and last year lost to Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.
Jordan Henderson sends message to Simon Kjaer after role in saving Christian Eriksen’s life
Ahead of AC Milan’s clash with Liverpool this evening, Reds captain Jordan Henderson has told Denmark skipper Simon Kjaer he has “the respect and admiration of everyone in football” for the part he played in saving team-mate Christian Eriksen’s life.
Jordan Henderson says Simon Kjaer has ‘the respect and admiration of everyone’
The Denmark captain came to Christian Eriksen’s assistance when he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Klopp on Group B
Jurgen Klopp has spoken about how hard he expects this Champions League group stage to be claiming that this is the strongest group he’s been a part of whilst at Liverpool.
“This is the strongest group we’ve had since I’ve been at Liverpool,” said the German. “In 2012-2013 at Dortmund, I think we had Manchester City, Real Madrid and Ajax – that was a proper group.
“This group keeps out two really good teams from knockouts and delivers one strong team to the Europa League.
“I never understand when people talk about changes to the Champions League. I like the Champions League how it is and this group shows there are no games where people will think ‘do I really want to watch that’.
“It will be exciting from the first second to the last second. I can’t see any kind of early decisions made in this group.”
Team news – Changes
Jurgen Klopp makes four changes to the Liverpool team that defeated Leeds 3-0 at the weekend.
Harvey Elliott suffered a broken ankle during that game so he’s out and Thiago Alcantara drops to the bench. Replacing them in the midfield are club captain Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita.
Joe Gomez is given a first start of the season as he takes the place of Virgil van Dijk alongside Joel Matip and up top Divock Origi comes in for Sadio Mane.
Team news – Liverpool
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Gomez, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Keita; Salah, Jota, Origi
AC Milan XI: Maignan; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Saelemaekers, Kessie, Brahim Diaz, Bennacer, Rafael Leao; Rebic
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