AC MILAN v GIRONA: MATCH PREVIEW

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·22 janvier 2025

AC MILAN v GIRONA: MATCH PREVIEW

AC Milan are preparing to face Girona in the 2024/25 Champions League. Coach Conceição’s side, who are on the hunt for three crucial points, are ready to show their worth in Europe's elite competition as the league phase nears its end. With kick-off closing in, here is our Match Preview to introduce the clash.

LATEST FROM MILANELLO AC Milan head into tonight's clash after some ups and downs. In Serie A, the Rossoneri fell to a 2-0 defeat to Juventus last time out. However, in the Champions League, AC Milan have won their last four matches, including the 2-1 victory over Crvena Zvezda in their last European outing. Conceição’s side are determined to build on their positive run in Europe's elite competition with another three points. Morata is back, although Tomori is suspended and Chukwueze, Jiménez, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic and Thiaw are all unavailable. Pavlović is in contention to play, with the Rossoneri line-up likely to be similar to the one that took to the pitch in Turin.

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"It's a huge game for us," said Coach Conceição on the eve of the game. "The supporters are the heart and soul of the Club. We need them as our 12th man. We need their support; this is a crisis. There's too much division. My message to the fans is this: if we win or lose, we all win or lose."

LATEST FROM GIRONA Girona have struggled in the Champions League so far, losing five out of six matches. In the league, the Spanish outfit fell to a late 2-1 home defeat to Sevilla last time out. However, they sit in a respectable eighth place in La Liga, two points adrift of the European places. Despite their struggles in Europe, they'll be looking to make the most of every opportunity to improve their league position. Míchel's side are aware of what awaits them and determined to fight until the very end. In their likely 4-3-3 formation, Gazzaniga, Stuani (captain), Blind, Van de Beek and Danjuma are among their key players.

"Playing at San Siro is a dream for me, for the players, and for all the fans," said Míchel at the press conference. "We want to face AC Milan by playing our own game; we will field the best possible team to win against an opponent who is really strong in moving around and creating spaces."

PRE-MATCH NUMBERS

AC Milan have faced eleven different Spanish teams in European competitions so far, but this will be their first encounter against Girona.
AC Milan have won their last two matches against Spanish opposition, the most recent being an away victory against Real Madrid on matchday four of this tournament (3-1). The Rossoneri have never won three consecutive games against Spanish sides in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League.
AC Milan have won their last four UEFA Champions League matches: on the last two occasions where the Rossoneri recorded at least five consecutive victories during a Champions League campaign, they reached the final (six in a row in 1992/93, five in 2004/05).
This will be Sérgio Conceição's first Champions League match in charge of AC Milan. The Portuguese Coach has won eight of his last 10 group stage fixtures in the competition (L2).
Only Lille’s Zhegrova (39) has enjoyed more successful dribbles than Rafael Leão (38) in the UEFA Champions League this season. The AC Milan man has completed 7.6 dribbles per 90 minutes of play in 2024/25, which is the second-highest tally recorded by a Rossoneri player since 2003/04 (only bettered by an average of eight dribbles every 90 minutes from the same AC Milan man in 2021/22).

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN v GIRONA ON TV In Italy, the match will be broadcast by Amazon Prime Video. To watch it in another country, you can check the "Where to Watch Milan on TV" section under "Abroad." On the Rossoneri channels, the Matchday show will air on Milan TV: live coverage starts at 20:00 leading up to kick-off, followed by interviews and Coach Conceição's press conference. Don't miss the coverage on acmilan.com, the AC Milan Official App, our official social media channels, and WhatsApp.

LATEST FROM THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE The referee for the game will be the German Tobias Stieler, who has taken charge of 17 Champions League matches but never refereed a game involving the Rossoneri or Girona. Gittelmann and Borsch will be his assistants, while Jöllenbeck will perform the role of fourth official. Storks, assisted by Dankert, will oversee VAR.

Matchday 7 is taking place over two nights. The following matches were played on Tuesday: Atalanta 5-0 Sturm Graz, Monaco 1-0 Aston Villa, Atlético Madrid 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica 4-5 Barcelona, Bologna 2-1 Borussia Dortmund, Club Brugge 0-0 Juventus, Liverpool 2-1 Lille, Crvena Zvezda 2-3 PSV and Slovan Bratislava 1-3 Stuttgart. On Wednesday, Leipzig v Sporting CP and Shakhtar Donetsk v Brest are scheduled for 18:45 CET, while the following matches will all kick off at 21:00 CET: Arsenal v Dinamo Zagreb, Celtic v Young Boys, Feyenoord v Bayern Munich, AC Milan v Girona, PSG v Manchester City, Real Madrid v Salzburg and Sparta Praha v Inter.

Current standings: Liverpool* 21; Barcelona* 18; Atlético Madrid* 15; Atalanta* 14; Arsenal, Inter, Brest, Bayer Leverkusen*, Aston Villa*, Monaco* and Lille* 13; Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund* and Juventus* 12; PSV* and Club Brugge* 11; Sporting CP, Feyenoord, Benfica* and Stuttgart* 10; Real Madrid and Celtic 9; Manchester City and Dinamo Zagreb 8; PSG 7; Bologna* 5; Shakhtar Donetsk and Sparta Praha 4; Girona, Salzburg, Crvena Zvezda* and Sturm Graz* 3; Leipzig, Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava* 0. (* = a match in hand)

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