AC Milan will take on Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Wednesday night hoping to defy the odds and reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
For Milan the equation is relatively straightforward but also daunting: they must beat Newcastle and then hope that Borussia Dortmund do them a favour by winning at home against PSG.
The Rossoneri played out a 0-0 draw with Eddie Howe’s side in the reverse game at San Siro, but in truth the home side should have won given their chances and dominance within the game.
Line-ups
Both teams are battling injury problems going into the game. Milan are expected to not have Simon Kjaer for the game with only Fikayo Tomori remaining among the central defenders available, given Pierre Kalulu, Malick Thiaw and Marco Pellegrino are out.
Mattia Caldara and Marco Sportiello are also long-term absentees, while Noah Okafor is a doubt a total of seven unavailable due to injury. Then there are the likes of Ismael Bennacer and Jan-Carlo Simic, who are fit but not in the UEFA squad list.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are battling 10 issues. Nick Pope will have to have shoulder surgery and will be out for months, Sven Botman hurt his knee, left-backs Matt Targett and Dan Burn are out due to thigh and lower back problems respectively.
Sandro Tonali’s unavailability is due to suspension, while in the middle of the pitch Joe Willock is struggling with calf problems. Jacob Murphy is out due to a shoulder issue, Elliot Anderson due to his back, Ashley Barnes due to his ankle and lastly Javier Manquillo is not on the UEFA squad list.
Probable Milan XI (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Tomori, Hernandez; Reijnders, Krunic; Chukwueze, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic; Giroud.
Probable Newcastle XI (4-3-3): Dubravka; Trippier, Lascelles, Schar, Livramento; Joelinton, Guimaraes, Miley; Almiron, Isak, Gordon.
Live steam and TV
Newcastle against AC Milan is scheduled for an 20:00 GMT kick-off on Wednesday, December 13. That translates to 21:00 GMT.
TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on TNT Sports 1, with coverage beginning at 7pm.
Live stream: Subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Discovery+ app and website.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on our social media feeds.
Tickets
Getting tickets for a Champions League game of this magnitude is nearly impossible unless you are a member at Newcastle United or you have a season ticket at Milan (and thus can purchase away tickets).
For NUFC, Premier League home match tickets this season will be made available via a ballot process for Members (strictly one application per membership). Full details of the process can be found here.
After each ballot period has closed, a ticket forwarding and resale listing will open for Season Ticket Holders. Any tickets listed for resale will then be made available to Members to purchase.
I was under the impression that Thiaw was injured. Would rather he be in the line up.