Neither team anticipated that they would start off Champions League play like this. Sitting fourth in La Liga, Atletico Madrid need a victory Wednesday on Paramount+ along with some help from Porto to move into a knockout stage spot. AC Milan is currently tied for first in Serie A but with only one point in Champions League play will need to defeat Atletico and Liverpool to have a shot at the last 16. Coming off of a wild 4-3 loss to Fiorentina, Milan’s defense will need to play better to get a result here.
Milan has had one of the worst attacks in Champions League play with only a 3.14 xG. For contests, only Sherrif and Malmo have had a worse number while Dynamo Kyiv has been close. Atletico is a little better with a 4.98 xG but they at least have the defense to make up for it only allowing six goals so far.
Here’s are storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Nov. 24 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Estadio Wanda Metropolitano — Madrid, Spain
- Live stream: Paramount+
- Odds: Atletico Madrid -160; Draw +290; AC Milan +450 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | Atlético Madrid vs. AC Milan
Storylines
Atletico Madrid: Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix will need to be in top form Wednesday to pace the attack. There are no major worries about Atletico keeping Milan out of the net but as Milan went down to ten men early in the last match and Zlatan Ibrahimovic also didn’t play, this fixture could be a little different. Rodrigo De Paul has been massive in the center of the pitch for Diego Simeone’s side and he will play a large role in both defense and transition play.
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AC Milan: Through Zlatan all things are possible? AC Milan will be happy to welcome back almost their entire first choice XI for this important game. They’ll need all that they can get from the Rafael Leao to Zlatan connection to see this through. I don’t want to toss all the numbers out of the window for Milan coming into this match, but playing so many matches either injured or with ten on the pitch, the numbers don’t provide all the context here. But the one number that matters is being on one point and they’ll need to do everything in their power to change it.
Prediction
I think Milan gets the job done being paced by their 40-year-old who still gets the job done, Zlatan. Pick: Milan 3, Atletico 2