AC Milan vs Liverpool preview: Zlatan fit, Origi chance

Team news and stats ahead of AC Milan vs Liverpool in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday; kick-off 8pm.

Team news

AC Milan have a string of injury worries, with Pietro Pellegri joining Olivier Giroud, Samu Castillejo and Ante Rebic and Davide Calabria in the treatment room.

Simon Kjaer is a definite absentee but Mike Maignan is back and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is expected to lead the line.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic will lead the line for AC Milan

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will rotate his squad for their final Champions League group game.

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Liverpool’s win against Wolves

Striker Divock Origi’s reward for coming off the bench to score the winner at Wolves on Saturday will be a start in the San Siro.

Centre-back Joe Gomez and midfielder Naby Keita are expected to be on the bench after returning to training last week after more than a month out with injuries but James Milner is suspended.

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp remains relaxed about Mohamed Salah’s contract negotiations, insisting ‘what we all want is clear’.

Liverpool through – when’s the last 16 draw?

Liverpool are already through to the Champions League last 16 as group winners after winning five games out of five.

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That means they will be seeded in the last-16 draw on Monday December 13 and will play the first leg of their last-16 tie away from home against one of the runners-up.

No team can play a club from their group or any side from their own country but potential opponents for Klopp’s side include PSG, Sporting Lisbon and Real Madrid or Inter.

Pioli: We know what we need to do

AC Milan are hoping to join Liverpool in the last 16.

Victory over Jurgen Klopp’s side and a draw between second-placed Porto and Atletico Madrid would see the seven-time European Cup winners progress to the knockout stage.

A win for Porto would put Stefano Pioli’s team into the Europa League but the Milan boss is not considering the permutations.

“We’re only focusing on tomorrow’s game. The club’s objective is to become competitive again, both in Italy and Europe,” Pioli said.

“We want to progress to the round of 16 in the Champions League; however, if we’re transferred to the Europa League, we’ll approach it in the best way possible.

“AC Milan need to be strong because the level will be high. We’ll be up against a team that have been among the best in the world for years now.

“The more unpredictable we are, and the more successful we are in attacking the spaces, the more we’ll be able to create dangerous situations up front.

“We know what we need to do to hold our own against them. We’ll also have the great support of our fans.”

How to follow

Follow live updates on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app from 6.30pm on Tuesday; kick-off 8pm.

You can also follow on Gillette Soccer Special live on Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Premier League from 7pm.

Opta stats

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Olivier Giroud has form against Liverpool but is an injury doubt

This will be the fourth meeting between AC Milan and Liverpool, with all four coming in the UEFA Champions League. Both teams have won one game apiece in the previous three, while their draw came in the 2005 final which Liverpool went onto win on penalties.The previous three meetings between AC Milan and Liverpool have seen a total of 14 goals scored (including extra time), with both sides scoring seven each. The Reds won 3-2 in this season’s reverse fixture at Anfield back in September.AC Milan will be looking for their first victory against an English side in European competition since February 2012, when they won 4-0 against Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. The Rossoneri are winless in their last six clashes with English opposition, losing five of those games (D1).English teams have won five of their last six away games against AC Milan in European competition (L1), with Arsenal in February 2012 the only team to fail to win in this run. All six of these games have taken place in the Round of 16 between the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.AC Milan have only won one of their last nine home games in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League (D5 L3), with that being a 2-0 victory over Celtic in September 2013. The Rossoneri are winless in their last four in the group stage in the competition on home soil, although three of those have ended level (L1).Liverpool have won all five of their games in the UEFA Champions League this season and could become the first English team to record a 100% record in the group stage of a single campaign in the competition (including second group stages). They will also be looking to win six consecutive games in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud has scored eight career goals against Liverpool across all competitions. Since the start of the 2012-13 season when he joined Arsenal, the only opponents he has scored more goals against at club level are Aston Villa (10) and Newcastle United (9).Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has scored six goals in five UEFA Champions League appearances in 2021-22, with their 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid being the only game he has failed to score in this term. The Egyptian has only netted more in a single UEFA Champions League campaign once in his career (10 in 2017-18).

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