Champions League
Conference League
Premier League
Published on Sep, 17 2024
After a year-long absence, Liverpool return to the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday when they take on AC Milan in one of Matchday 1's most anticipated matches.
This match serves as an example of the features of the Champions League's new format, which promises more competitive matchups at earlier stages of the competition. Few will feel the impact as quickly as both Liverpool and AC Milan, who both eye a spot in the knockouts and hope to impress in their first seasons under new leadership. The Reds come in the favorites despite suffering the first loss in Arne Slot's time as manager, while Milan enter the game after finally picking up their first win under Paulo Fonseca's leadership.
AC Milan: Four games into the Serie A season, AC Milan finally have their first win, but a 4-0 result against an unimpressive Venezia has not exactly done away with early season concerns for the team. They are scoring plenty -- Saturday's game brings them up to nine goals in four league games, an impressive tally led by U.S. men's national team star Christian Pulisic, who has two goals and two assists to start the season. Fonseca's Milan, though, have no problem conceding, letting in six goals in as many games. While Pulisic's form could be good enough to break past a sturdy Liverpool defense, their own back line will be an area of focus as they play against perhaps the best attacking group they have faced so far this season.
Liverpool: Slot's winning streak as the Liverpool manager came to an end on Saturday with a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, but that's not necessarily reason to panic. It is still early days for the new manager, who has been able to put together strong showings in the early days of his Liverpool tenure. Slot's version of the team is a bit more restrained than Jurgen Klopp's, but he still benefits from the well-assembled attack he inherited. The Reds have seven goals in four Premier League games, three each from Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz. Perhaps most notably, though, they have conceded just once and may have enough in attack and defense to keep Milan at bay.
Liverpool have the opportunity to put Saturday's loss behind them, but perhaps more importantly, they have all the tools to do so convincingly. Expect the in-form Salah and Diaz to play a part and take advantage of Milan's weaknesses, picking another convincing win in the early days of Slot's tenure. Pick: AC Milan 0, Liverpool 2
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