AC MILAN v CHELSEA: MATCH PREVIEW

The San Siro fills up again for another thrilling fixture, an important crossroads in the European season. AC Milan and Chelsea meet again six days after the first leg for a crucial 90 minutes, and not only in terms of qualification for the next round. Our fourth European night of the season will kick-off at 21:00 CEST, and we approach it with our Match Preview. 

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
The victory against Juventus restored confidence to the camp after the defeat in London, the last few days of work after the league fixture, on the other hand, have confirmed the return of Junior Messias. The Brazilian's return is an important one, in light of the recent muscular injury to Charles De Ketelaere, news that was confirmed by the Coach in his press conference. The absence of the Belgian trequartista could mean a return to the same team seen in the league against the Bianconeri, with the only possible query being between Tommaso Pobega and Rade Krunić.

"We have to show that the London game was just a one-off occurrence and not the norm," Stefano Pioli said on the eve of the match. "We can learn from last Wednesday's match in order to make fewer mistakes, because we are playing against a team that, in addition to its qualities, has shown that it knows how to take advantage of opponents' mistakes. Myself and the team are focused on this match. The standings are very balanced, we cannot think beyond Chelsea."

LATEST FROM CHELSEA
The win at Stamford Bridge reignited the Blues' hopes of qualification for the Round of 16, who come into this weeks match off the back of a convincing 3-0 win over Wolves in the Premier League at the weekend,with goals from Havertz, Pulisic and Broja. Compared to the previous match, Potter proposed a different tactical set-up against the Wolves: a 4-2-3-1 with a defensive line of Azpilicueta-Chalobah-Koulibaly-Cucurella in front of Kepa, a midfield two of Loftus-Cheek and Jorginho and a trio of Gallagher-Mount-Pulisic in support of the lone froward Havertz. Chelsea announced three unavailable players after their last training session in London: they are Fofana - who was injured against AC Milan in the first leg - Kantè and Ziyech, these players who will not take part in the game at the San Siro.

"San Siro is an incredible and historic stadium, and I expect a fantastic atmosphere like we have at Stamford Bridge, with both teams' fans putting on a show," said Graham Potter on the eve of the game. "AC Milan will be trying to make amends for the result in the reverse fixture, and we'll need to be ready. We'll have to fight to pick up points. We must play together, do everything well and grow over the course of the 90 minutes."

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN ON TV
AC Milan v Chelsea will be televised and broadcast live on Canale 5 and on Sky, where it will be available on Sky Sport Uno (satellite channel 201) also with the option to watch in 4K. Streaming-wise, however, the match will be available on Sky Go, NOW and Infinity+ platforms. On Milan TV the pre-match coverage will begin at 19.30 CEST, right up until kick-off at San Siro. Also not to be missed is the post-match, with analysis and statements from Coach Pioli, as well as coverage of the match on acmilan.com and on AC Milan's social profiles.

LATEST FROM THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The fourth round matches in the 2022/23 group stage arrives just a week after the third, with the hosts swapping over. This round of fixtures could tip the scales in a Group E which currently hangs in the balance as all four participants are in the running for qualification to the Round of 16: 

• AC Milan v Chelsea, 11 October at 21:00 CEST (San Siro, Milan)
• GNK Dinamo Zagreb v FC Salzburg, 11 October at 21:00 CEST (Maksimir, Zagreb)

The standings: FC Salzburg 5 points, Chelsea and AC Milan 4, GNK Dinamo Zagreb 3.

THE REFEREE
German referee Daniel Siebert has been appointed to officiate AC Milan v Chelsea. The 38-year-old German referee, who has already refereed the match between Maccabi Haifa and Paris Saint-Germain in this edition of the Champions League, has refereed just one previous match for the Rossoneri (none with Chelsea): Sparta Prague 0-1 AC Milan in December 2020 in the Europa League. The rest of the team on the scene at San Siro will also be from Germany: linesmen will be Seidel and Foltyn, fourth official Schlager and on VAR there will be Fritz, assisted by Osmers.

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