Dinamo Zagreb-Milan is a match for the fifth day of the group stage of the Champions League and will be played on Tuesday at 21:00: statistics, likely formations, predictions, live TV and streaming.
In the league, AC Milan have bounced back in a big way after their home thud against Napoli. Stefano Pioli’s team put the turbo back into gear and won four games in a row, also taking advantage of a calendar – Juve aside – that in addition to the Bianconeri confronted them with Empoli, Verona and Monza. Luciano Spalletti’s Azzurri are running even faster, but last Saturday’s success with the Brianzoli allowed the Rossoneri to keep pace with the partenopei and prevent them from escaping, remaining at -3 from the top. In Europe, on the other hand, the situation is decidedly more complex after the double defeat against Chelsea, overwhelming at Stamford Bridge (3-0) and running away at the San Siro (0-2) at the end of a match that generated a lot of controversy for the rather generous penalty awarded to the Blues for an alleged foul by Tomori, which also caused the expulsion of the English defender.
The situation is now more homogeneous than ever in Group E, where with two days to go in the group stage there is no team without hopes of qualifying for the round of 16. Chelsea lead with seven points. The Londoners have ‘booked’ first place, followed by Salzburg on 6 points and finally Milan-Dinamo Zagreb on 4.
Croatia is not an easy place to pass
Ristovski’s celebration
Everything can still happen, in short. And the Italian champions are almost obliged to win their last two matches to be sure of not missing the knockout phase as they did last year. The Croatian outfit, already beaten 3-1 in Milan, have so far proved to be a tough nut to crack in front of their own public: Chelsea fell at Maksimir and the Austrians did not go beyond a draw. Dinamo Zagreb, moreover, is travelling with full sails in the Croatian championship. On Friday, they stumbled (1-1) at Hajduk Split – they had not drawn in an HNL league match since August – but remain firmly in the lead with an eight-point advantage over second place.
Coach Ante Cacic will rely on the best possible eleven against Milan: all the starters will be on the pitch, including the talented Orsic. Pioli, on the other hand, will dust off Giroud, who was left on the bench against Monza but has to do without the disqualified Tomori: in his place is Gabbia.
The Prediction
Milan are qualitatively superior to Dinamo Zagreb, with whom they have almost always won in their seven previous matches (five wins, one draw and one defeat), and they showed that in the first leg. However, the Croatians remain a tricky team and are still unbeaten in front of their fans in Europe. The Rossoneri are slight favourites but, as was the case at the San Siro, they should concede at least one goal in the Croatian trip.
Dynamo Zagreb v Milan (AS Roma): the likely line-up
- DINAMO ZAGREB (4-2-3-1): Livakovic; Ristovski, Sutalo, Peric, Ljubicic; Ademi, Misic; Spikic, Ivanusec, Orsic; Petkovic.
- MILAN (4-2-3-1): Tatarusanu; Kalulu, Gabbia, Kjaer, Theo Hernandez; Bennacer, Tonali; Messias, Diaz, Leao; Giroud.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
