Bayer Leverkusen vs AC Milan: Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

Tuesday night's Champions League match between Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan will occur at the BayArena. The two teams had contrasting fortunes in their opening league-phase matches.

Even though Milan lost badly at San Siro and the German champions cruised to an opening-match victory, this will be the first time the two teams have faced each other in European competition.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

With last season's record-breaking achievements to live up to, Bayer Leverkusen's Champions League return was no picnic. However, their ruthless 4-0 road victory over Feyenoord suggests they can be as impactful this season.

Leverkusen achieved their greatest away win in the league thus far, and Florian Wirtz became the first German player to score twice on his Champions League debut.

Die Werkself have begun their quest to reach the knockout rounds in style, which has yet to happen in eight years. Now they have a chance to win their first two matches since 2001, a season in which they lost in the final to Real Madrid.

This is a historic game for the German champions, who have won five of their past six home matches and are currently undefeated in nine UEFA competition matches. They also advanced to last season's Europa League final undefeated.

Leverkusen have only lost twice in their last 21 European matches; however, both were against Italian teams: Roma and Atalanta BC, who they defeated last season.

After steamrolling De Kuip, the Bundesliga team narrowly defeated Wolfsburg in a seven-goal thriller, then ended Bayern Munich's perfect start to the season with a 1-1 draw in Munich.

But after allowing ten goals in their first five league games, head coach Xabi Alonso (who scored the third goal for Liverpool in their 2005 Champions League final versus Milan) will be eager to shore up their defense.

Milan got even with Liverpool in the 2007 final, and the two European powerhouses met again on the first day of this year's competition.

The hosts, who could never keep up with their Premier League opponents, let in eleven shots on goal at San Siro, tied for the most in a Champions League match, and lost 3-1.

Despite advancing to the semi-finals in 2023, Milan has won just nine of their previous 32 games at the elite level. Their victory at Newcastle United last year was their fourth in seventeen away games.

There was discussion of sacking new coach Paulo Fonseca within weeks of his appointment, but the squad has gotten a new lease of life thanks to back-to-back league victories in less than a week.

The Rossoneri eventually achieved a long-awaited 2-1 victory over archrivals Inter Milan after six consecutive derby losses, thanks to the dramatic late goal of boyhood supporter Matteo Gabbia.

Then, on Friday night, Fonseca's team cruised to a 3-0 home win against Lecce, thanks to goals from Alvaro Morata, Theo Hernandez, and Christian Pulisic in the first half. They moved to second place in Serie A, building on their success in the first Derby della Madonnina season.

Therefore, in midweek, the seven-time European champions can upset Xabi Alonso's well-oiled machine and win their first Champions League away match for just the second time in eight campaigns.

Bayer Leverkusen x AC Milan Team News

Xabi Alonso will probably start mainly in the same lineup against Milan as the five-change Bayer Leverkusen made for their high-profile match against Bayern last weekend.

Robert Andrich, who scored Die Werkself's goal on Saturday, will have to contend with Aleix Garcia and Exequiel Palacios to play with captain Granit Xhaka in the middle of the field.

Florian Wirtz is another first-choice automatic; he scored four goals in his last three games in Europe before going scoreless in Bavaria, and he was directly involved in twenty-four goals in his previous twenty-six starts in France.

An ex-German player who has been spectacular in Serie A this season may pose the greatest threat to Milan. Christian Pulisic will look to make history by becoming the first American to score in three straight Champions League games. He has scored in each of his last four matches, with all four goals coming in the first half.

Although Alvaro Morata, Pulisic, and Rafael Leao have all recently joined Tammy Abraham up front for the Rossoneri, Ruben Loftus-Cheek may triumphantly return to the lineup to provide more midfield cover against elite opponents.

Injuries have sidelined Alessandro Florenzi (ACL), Marco Sportiello (hand), Ismael Bennacer (ankle), and captain Davide Calabria (muscle).

Our predictions

Bayer Leverkusen will win @ 1.70 on Sky247.ng.

Milan has questionable defenses and can be exploited by teams with enough skill to defeat them, unlike Leverkusen, who have only let in two goals in their last sixty matches.

The Italian powerhouses will have to play catch-up in the league phase after suffering back-to-back losses to open the season.

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