The Catalan giants are hot favourites to progress through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, but a tie at San Siro is never easy for any team.
The first-leg of the quarter-final will be played at the San Siro on Wednesday, March 28 at 19.45 GMT.
AC Milan got into the quarter-finals of the Champions League by the skin of their teeth, after Arsenal gave them a 3-0 thumping at the Emirates Stadium. The Rossoneri persevered and managed to hold the Gunners
at bay, to confirm their passage in the last eight of the competition.
Barcelona have been in ruthless form and come into the first-leg of the tie on the back of a 7-1 thumping to Bayer Leverkusen at the Nou Camp. The aggregate score was deemed worthless by the magical form
of Lionel Messi.
AC Milan
Massimiliano Allegri’s men have found a good rhythm of victories, and barring their defeat at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 in the second-leg of the last 16, they have had a high win percentage in their last ten outings.
They were ruthless against Arsenal in the first-leg of the tie, cruising to a 4-0 victory over the Gunners.
In their last Champions League encounter at San Siro, Milan lost to Barcelona 2-3, with a controversial penalty awarded to the Blaugrana in their group stage match. Milan would be drawing confidence from
the draw they secured at Nou Camp in September earlier in the competition. However, a lot has changed since then, with Milan losing some key players through injuries.
They won their matchday 29 fixture of the Serie A 2-1 against AS Roma, and will be confident with their form ahead of the match.
Barcelona
The Blaugrana have been the toast of Europe for a long time, and will be looking to retain their status as the reigning European Champions. Pep Guardiola’s men are looking to become the first side in European
history to retain the Champions League trophy.
Barcelona have been in annihilation mood, having won their last five matches. Furthermore, the Catalan club have not lost a match since early February, when they lost to Osasuna in La Liga. Guardiola’s men
are brimming with confidence coming into the match, and their victory at the San Siro would have greatly boosted their morale going into the match.
Team News
AC Milan
The Diavolo have had terrible luck with injuries this season. They will be without the services of their influential striker, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alexandre-Pato-c4901, who they have missed for the majority of the season. The Brazilian
has flown out to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/America-c38390 to have his muscle injuries inspected by a specialist.
Furthermore, the Rossoneri have lost their star defender, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thiago-Silva-c34903, to injury. The Brazilian will not be able to feature over the two legs, as he is expected to miss this month through the knock he picked
up during the game against AS http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roma-c31603.
There is some good news for the Italians as their veteran defender, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alessandro-Nesta-c4735, makes his way back into the team. The defender was in exceptional form at Camp Nou and Allegri will be hoping for a similar
performance from his star player.
More positive news follow, as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Clarence-Seedorf-c9275 and Robinho are fit and available for selection in the game, all likely to start the game.
Possible starting-eleven: Abbiati, Bonera, Nesta, Mexes, Antonini, Aquilani, Ambrosini, Nocerino, Boateng, Ibrahimovic, Robinho.
Barcelona
Pep Guardiola does not have the same selection headaches as AC Milan, but he also has to contend with a few issues.
The much publicised liver transplant of left-back Eric Abidal leaves him out of contention for the match; however his replacement in the squad is also out with a thigh injury. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ibrahim-Afellay-c16547 will not be
part of the squad to play the Rossoneri, even though he has been training for a while. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Villa-c10629 would not be featuring as well, due the damage to his knee ligaments.
Probable starting-eleven: Valdes, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dani-Alves-c9869, Mascherano, Pique, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Fabregas, Messi, Sanchez.
Players to watch:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-c38029 (AC Milan)
The http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sweden-c3015 international has been on fire in the Serie A, and leads the scoring charts with 22 strikes in the 23 games he has featured in so far . Ibra would be pumped up for the tie, as he will be playing
against his former employers, especially given the acrimonious circumstances in which he transferred away from the Blaugrana.
He has also been pivotal in the Champions League, having struck five times in the six starts.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38604)
The world is literally at the feet of this footballing genius, who has been breaking records all over. He is the leading Champions League scorer with an astonishing return of 12 goals in seven matches he
has played for the Catalan side this season. His domestic record is superb as well, and he will influence the proceedings of the match to a great extent.
Verdict
Even though Milanello would be welcoming a few stars in their line up, the Catalan club would definitely have the edge over the reigning Italian champions. This match is guaranteed to have goals in it, with
chances of both sides disturbing the net. However, expect the Blaugrana to prevail in this match.
Prediction: 1-3
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