Seven-time European champions AC Milan have disappointed in the Champions League this season but there’s still a chance to sneak through to the knockout stages. The Rossoneri need a win away against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
With a lot at stake, the match could have an extremely cagey start. Bookmaker 10Bet has the odds at 2.90 for under 0.5 goals in the first half and at 1.40 for over 0.5 first-half goals.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 23rd, 12:00 P.M. (EST)
It’s been a bizarre story with Milan this season. They have made one of the best starts to a Serie A season in club history but boast only one point from four Champions League outings, which came in a 1-1 draw with Porto via an own goal.
Stefano Pioli’s men blew a 2-1 lead at Anfield and it seems like they have never recovered from it with a painful 2-1 home loss against Atletico through a 97th-minute penalty robbing even more confidence from the team. Their chances would be gone by now if Liverpool hadn’t dominated Group B.
Meanwhile, in Serie A, it took 13 games for Milan to finally get their first loss of the season, and they are still sharing the league lead with Napoli. The team boasts the second-best scoring record in Italy and their away form has been outstanding with only five points dropped in seven outings. Can they now get a big result in Madrid?
Atletico will be amped up for the matchup as well with back-to-back defeats to Liverpool leaving the team sitting third in the group. They have qualified from the group stage seven times across the past eight seasons, so finishing below the top two would be a massive shock for the team.
To avoid disappointment on Wednesday, Atletico have to find a way to deal with Milan’s veteran forwards. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has just become the oldest player in Serie A history to bag a brace in a match, and he’s combined for nine goals with Olivier Giroud this season
Old school center forwards are a dying breed in top-level football, but Zlatan and Giroud are still going strong, and they have all the experience in the world to deal with the pressure that comes with a must-win game.
Atletico have their own golden oldie in Luis Suarez, who ended a 2409-minute away goal drought in Europe with his winning penalty at San Siro in September. Diego Simeone will hope that the Uruguayan can deliver another big goal Wednesday night.
