AC Milan will be looking to respond in the best possible way after their 3-0 defeat against Chelsea last Wednesday as they face them again, this time at home.
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Milan were a long way from their best in the return fixture as Graham Potter got his first Champions League win thanks to goals from Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Reece James. That complicates the Rossoneri’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages, but they must first focus on getting a positive result tonight.
You can read our pre-match preview here, while below are the best stats ahead of the game…
➤ Milan are winless in five meetings against Chelsea in Europe (D3 L2) since winning the very first match between the two sides in the Fairs Cup in February 1966. Having lost last week, Milan have never previously lost consecutive games against the Blues.
➤ Chelsea only allowed four shots against Milan last time out. Since Opta have this data available for the UEFA Champions League, the Blues have only faced fewer in a game in the competition twice, doing so vs Malmö FF in October 2021 (two) and vs Galatasaray in March 2014 (three).
➤ Milan have lost four of the last five games when hosting an English team in the UEFA Champions League, with their only victory coming against Arsenal in February 2012 (4-0). The only previous time they hosted Chelsea in the competition was in a 1-1 draw in the first group stage in October 1999.
➤ Chelsea’s last away win against an Italian side in the UEFA Champions League was against Lazio back in November 2003 (4-0). Since then, the Blues are winless in their last seven away trips to face Italian teams in the competition (D1 L6), losing each of the last five in a row between 2010 and 2021.
➤ Milan ended a run of six UEFA Champions League home matches without victory (D3 L3) on MD2, beating Dinamo Zagreb at San Siro. The Rossoneri could win consecutive home matches in a single season in the competition for the first time since 2011-12 against Viktoria Plzen and BATE Barisov.
➤ This is Chelsea’s second away game in Europe this season, losing the first against Dinamo Zagreb on MD1 in what Thomas Tuchel’s final game in charge of the club. The Blues have never previously lost each of their first two away games in a European campaign.
➤ Rafael Leão has been directly involved in four goals in seven games to date for AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League, scoring once while setting up three goals. Leão leads all Milan players in the competition this season for assists (2), touches in the opposition box (18) and dribbles completed (8).
➤ Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling has been directly involved in 23 goals in his last 30 starts in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League (15 goals, 8 assists), including scoring or assisting in each of his last two starts this season.
➤ Fikayo Tomori has initiated more sequences of play than any other player in the UEFA Champions League this season, with the AC Milan defender regaining possession for his side 47 times in three games.
➤ Chelsea defender Thiago Silva could make his 100th UEFA Champions League appearance in this game (currently on 99), becoming the fifth Brazilian player to reach this milestone in the competition, after Roberto Carlos (120), Dani Alves (111), Fernandinho (103) and Marcelo (102).
