Borussia Dortmund vs. AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday is previewed by Sports Mole, along with possible lineups, team news, and predictions.
Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan are locked in a battle to advance from the Champions League’s “Group of Death.” When they play on Tuesday at San Siro, both teams will be looking to build on their previous victories in Europe.
After defeating Newcastle United twice in a row, Dortmund leads Group F with seven points, while Milan, in third place, is only two points behind after defeating Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month.
Two matchdays have determined who will qualify for the Champions League’s round of 16, and going into the penultimate round of Group F matches, four clubs are separated by just three points.
After coming back from behind to defeat Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the month, Milan knows that another victory at San Siro would put them just a win away from qualifying for the knockout stage in back-to-back campaigns. Goals from Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao secured maximum points for Milan.
Even though they will face a strong Dortmund team, the semi-finalists from the previous season, who had lost 3-0 to PSG in France, now control their own destiny. A back-to-back win over the German powerhouse would ensure a top-two finish, and a win over Newcastle would do the same.
The Rossoneri faced an unpredictable Fiorentina team on Saturday night after their welcome international break, where they had only managed two points from their previous four domestic games.
Due to forward injuries, 15-year-old Francesco Camarda started the game as the youngest player in Serie A history. Just before halftime, Milan defeated the Viola 1-0 thanks to a Theo Hernandez penalty kick.
Stefano Pioli’s team was unable to score in open play due to Giroud and Leao’s absences, and since they have only scored twice in four Champions League games this season, questions about their relative lack of attacking ability still exist.
Milan, who have won 11 of their previous 16 home matches against German opponents in UEFA competition, will now host Borussia Dortmund in Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since a 1-0 loss in the 2002–03 campaign.
Dortmund’s record of one point from their opening two games left the Bundesliga team facing an early exit, following their most recent meeting with Milan, which ended in a goalless draw on home ground last month.
But BVB have since turned things around, and they are now in Group F thanks to consecutive wins over Newcastle, the most recent of which saw them win 2-0 in Germany to seize control of their own destiny.
Dortmund has now gone four games in a row at home in the Champions League without giving up a goal, a first in the team’s history, thanks to goals from Niclas Fullkrug and Julian Brandt in each half.
Die Schwarzgelben, who are 10 points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen in points, will travel to Italy’s second city in search of their first three-game winning streak in the competition since 2020. They have been inconsistent at home.
After leading BVB to a 4-2 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach over the weekend, where Germany’s Fullkrug scored again as the team rallied from a two-goal deficit, head coach Edin Terzic has only managed three losses in 18 games this season. Nevertheless, his team has not played with the same level of attacking fluidity as before.
Dortmund fell further behind in the race for the title after winning just one of their three Bundesliga games prior to the international break. However, success in Europe would undoubtedly bolster Dortmund’s reputation and provide them with a lot to look forward to in 2024.
