AC Milan will again go in search of their first win in the 2023-24 edition of the Champions League when they take on Paris Saint-Germain in France tonight.
Milan go into a back-to-back against the Ligue 1 champions off the back of 0-0 draws against Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund, and there is no shortage of sub-plots in tonight’s fixture.
The outcome will be heavily influenced by some key battles that take place across the pitch, starting with the one between Kylian Mbappe and Malick Thiaw. Since the start of 2017-18, Mbappé has been involved in more Champions League group stage goals than any other player (46 – 26 goals, 20 assists).
He is expected to play on the inside left of a front four and thus will likely encounter Thiaw more than Kalulu. The German needs a response and a positive performance after his red card against Juventus on Saturday, and this will arguably be his biggest test as a player yet.
Speaking of players who were not at their best against Juve, Milan will rely on Tijjani Reijnders to cause problems in the middle of the park and to be effective against Manuel Ugarte to help pin PSG back when possible.
Ugarte was a summer signing for the Parisians from Sporting CP for €60m and has so far been very impressive, so Reijnders must disrupt while forcing the Uruguay international to do some defensive work too.
There will be an all-France battle down Milan’s left side as Theo Hernandez returns to the starting line-up to face his countryman Ousmane Dembélé, who moved to the French capital in the summer from Barcelona.
Dembélé has not yet scored a goal for PSG since his arrival for a reported fee of €50m so the pressure is on him to produce on the right side of what will either be a front three or four for Luis Enrique’s side, while Theo will look to get forward and challenge Achraf Hakimi where possible too.
Moving to Milan’s attack, Olivier Giroud will renew hostilities with Milan Skriniar. The pair faced each other multiple times during Milan derbies over the past two seasons and now the experienced duo will go at it again.
Skriniar joined PSG on a free and has got over the back issue which plagued the end of his time at Inter. He will aim to continue Giroud’s drought (no open play goal since August) but also be a threat from set pieces.
Milan’s main hope against such a possession-based side like the Parisians will be counter-attacking effectively, something Rafael Leao will be absolutely crucial for. The winger has gone over a month without a goal, and he is likely to engage in a battle with Marquinhos.
Since leaving the Italian capital for the French one, Marquinhos has cemented his reputation as one of the best all-round central defenders in the world and will relish the battle against someone so fast and tricky like Leao.
Ugarte is a beast. I’m not expecting Deers to get the better of him. But he call pull him out of position though with smart movements