AC Milan will be up against Manchester City in their first game of the Soccer Champions Tour tonight, taking place at Yankees Stadium. For Paulo Fonseca, it will be yet another opportunity to get to know his players.
Milan arrived in the States on Thursday and had one training yesterday, in which Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah took part. Slowly but steadily, the squad is getting back to normal and Fonseca will make the most of this pre-season tour.
Of course, some signings are also expected to be made, even if the CEO Giorgio Furlani stated that the fans may have to wait for a while. In any case, the manager has enough good players to give Pepe Guardiola and his side a run for their money.
Date and time
It will be a late one for the Europeans as the game is scheduled for midnight between Saturday and Sunday, with kick-off set for 18:00 local time. Unfortunately, it will only get worse with the other US friendlies as they are scheduled for even later.
The game will be played at Yankees Stadium and for Milan, this will be extra special given that the Yankees own a 10% stake in the club. As such, the Rossoneri will be playing in their ‘second home’ even if – of course – it will not feel like it.
Team news
Milan were held to a 1-1 draw in their first friendly of the pre-season, taking on Rapid Wien, and it was truly a game of two halves for the Rossoneri. Man City, meanwhile, conceded a whopping four goals to Celtic and thus lost the game despite finding the back of the net three times.
Just like for the Rossoneri, some stars are missing for Guardiola due to the Euros, including the likes of John Stones and Rodri. On the other hand, the manager still has players like Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland at his disposal.
Starting XI-wise for Milan, Gazzetta dello Sport reported earlier this morning that Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will start, and another certainty is the goalkeeper Marco Sportiello. The rest is pure speculation, but Ismael Bennacer is another very likely starter.
Predicted Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Sportiello; Calabria; Tomori, Gabbia, Jimenez; Bennacer, Adli; Chukwueze, Loftus-Cheek, Liberali; Jovic.
Predicted Man City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Lewis, Katongo, Mbete, Wilson-Esbrand; Perrone, Phillips, Wright; Bobb, Haaland, Grealish.
How to watch
In Italy, the game will be broadcast by DAZN and SportItalia, while Premier Sports will show the game in the UK. ESPN+ has purchased the rights in the US, for those that don’t have tickets to the game, and you can find the full list of broadcasters here.
