AC Milan vs Liverpool – LIVE!
Liverpool make the trip to the San Siro to take on AC Milan tonight in what is a blockbuster start to the Champions League. It is a new format for the expanded 36-team competition this season, with each side playing eight matches in the league phase, and only those finishing outside of the top 24 knocked out after those games.
Arne Slot’s side have been handed a fairly tricky fixture list, with Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen among the visitors to Anfield, and they come into tonight’s clash in Milan with confidence slightly dented. Federico Chiesa is named on the bench in his home country and could make his debut tonight, while Cody Gakpo and Kostas Tsimikas come into the starting lineup.
Milan sit tenth in Serie A, with just one win from their opening four matches. It was a frustrating European campaign for the club last season, knocked out of the Champions League in the group stage and then beaten by Roma in the quarter-finals. Stefano Pioli has since left, with Paulo Fonseca now the man in the Milan dugout. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below!
AC Milan vs Liverpool latest news
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Kick-off: 8pm BST, San Siro
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How to watch: Amazon Prime
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AC Milan team news: Morata preferred to Abraham
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Liverpool team news: Gakpo starts; Chiesa on bench
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Standard Sport prediction
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New Champions League format explained
In the building!
19:27 , Matt Verri
For those of you who enjoy footballers looking very stern as they walk towards a dressing room, you’re in luck…
Tough set for Liverpool
19:22 , Matt Verri
Eight matches for each team in the league phase of the competition, which will go on until after Christmas.
Liverpool are at home to Bologna in their next Champions League match, before travelling to face RB Leipzig and then hosting Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen.
It is then a blockbuster showdown with Real Madrid at Anfield in late November, followed by a trip to take on Girona.
In January, Liverpool face Lille on home soil, followed by their final match on the road against PSV.
Not the easiest of draws…
Fonseca: Liverpool will punish mistakes
19:13 , Matt Verri
AC Milan boss Paulo Fonseca has been full of praise for Liverpool in the build-up to this match, believing the Reds are one of the best sides in the competition.
“They are a great team – one of the strongest in Europe at the moment,” Fonseca said at his pre-match press conference.
“They have a very strong positional game and individual talents. We will need to be defensively perfect to win.
“In the Champions League, against teams like this, you cannot make mistakes. If we make one mistake, then they will score. We will need to be a complete team in defence to attack them with stability.
“For me, at this moment, they are one of the strongest teams in Europe.”
Elsewhere in the Champions League
19:06 , Matt Verri
So far, so good for Premier League sides.
Aston Villa are making their return to the Champions League tonight, away to Young Boys in their opening match.
Unai Emery’s side are 2-0 up after an hour, well in control of that match.
The hosts have done their best to help with some very generous defending…
Morata gets the nod
19:02
It’s Alvaro Morata leading the line for AC Milan tonight.
That means Tammy Abraham has to settle for a place on the bench, along with former Tottenham right-back Emerson Royal.
Christian Pulisic and Rafael Leao will be providing the pace out wide – can they get at Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kostas Tsimikas?
AC Milan team news
18:53 , Matt Verri
Starting XI: Maignan, Calabria, Tomori, Pavlovic, Hernandez, Loftus-Cheek, Fofana, Reijnders, Pulisic, Morata, Leao
Subs: Nava, Torriani, Okafor, Zeroli, Chukwueze, Royal, Bartesaghi, Terracciano, Gabbia, Abraham, Musah
Slot makes changes
18:51
It has been an unchanged Liverpool side for the last three matches, but Arne Slot does tweak his lineup tonight.
Kostas Tsimikas comes in at left-back to replace Andy Robertson, while Cody Gakpo gets the nod over Luis Diaz in the front three.
Federico Chiesa makes the bench, who could be handed a debut tonight.
Liverpool team news
18:46 , Matt Verri
Starting XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Gakpo.
Subs: Kelleher, Jaros, Gomez, Endo, Diaz, Nunez, Chiesa, Jones, Robertson, Quansah, Morton, Bradley.
Alisson hits out at busier schedule
18:34 , Matt Verri
Alisson Becker has called on football’s authorities to speak to players about their welfare as the Reds prepare to start an expanded Champions League campaign.
UEFA’s elite club-level competition now involves 36 teams, which means an extra two matches in a group stage which now does not finish until the end of January as opposed to mid-December.
The complaint about a packed calendar was usually one made loudly by former Reds boss Jurgen Klopp but Alisson has taken up the mantle and said the players are “tired” of the ever-increasing schedule.
“For the supporters, it is amazing. More games, more bigger games, big teams against each other,” he said ahead of the clash against AC Milan in the San Siro.
“For us players as well, it is good that you are going to play against the best in Europe – and it is always a good idea to add some games to the calendar that is not busy… I am being ironic a little bit.
“Sometimes nobody asks the players what they think about adding more games so maybe our opinion does not matter.
“But everybody knows what we think about having more games. Everybody is tired of that.”
Stage is set!
18:27 , Matt Verri
Always a special night in Milan…
New Champions League format explained
18:16 , Matt Verri
Instead of 32 teams being divided into eight groups of four, all 36 teams in this year’s competition will form a single opening league table.
Each of the teams will play four games at home and four away. The eight fixtures a team will play in total are two games more than teams played in last year’s edition, and will be against eight different sides.
After the initial phase, the top eight teams in the league table will advance directly into the last-16.
Teams who finish between ninth and 24th will enter a play-off round, while teams who finish 25th and below will be eliminated from European competition altogether – with no consolation route into the Europa League on offer.
Why is AC Milan vs Liverpool not on TNT Sports?
18:08 , Matt Verri
Instead of TNT Sports showing all Champions League games in the UK as in recent years, Amazon Prime Video will now be broadcasting every ‘top Tuesday match’.
That starts with Milan vs Liverpool tonight, with coverage getting underway at 6:30pm BST.
Broadcasting rights will be shared between TNT Sports (previously BT Sport) and Amazon Prime Video between 2024 and 2027, with the BBC also showing a brand new highlights show at 10:40pm BST every Wednesday night.
TNT Sports still keep the majority of the games with 533 of the 550 total fixtures, but Amazon now get the first pick of 17 games on Tuesdays right up until the semi-finals.
Other upcoming matches on Prime Video include Arsenal vs Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Liverpool vs Bayer Leverkusen and Manchester City vs Feyenoord.
Standard Sport prediction
18:01 , Matt Verri
Paulo Fonseca has struggled during the early stages of his tenure at Milan, even if there was a big win over Venezia last time out.
That Forest loss was frustrating for Liverpool, but there is every chance they bounce straight back with a statement display.
Liverpool to win, 2-0.
Liverpool team news
17:52 , Matt Verri
Federico Chiesa could make his Liverpool debut tonight.
The summer signing failed to make the squad for Saturday’s home loss to Nottingham Forest despite training with his new team during the international break.
Chiesa has travelled to Italy for the match, with Arne Slot confirming at his pre-match press conference that the 26-year-old could feature off the bench.
The Liverpool boss said: “Too early to play 90 mins but hopefully some minutes in the upcoming fixtures.”
The Dutchman has a decision to make in attack with who partners Mohamed Salah, after Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo all failed to make an impact against Forest.
Nunez and Gakpo has been given bit-part roles so far this season, so both could be given an opportunity from the off at San Siro given the tight turnaround between games.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Gravenberch; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Nunez
AC Milan team news
17:46 , Matt Verri
Ismael Bennacer, Alessandro Florenzi and Marco Sportiello are all missing for the hosts. Malick Thiaw is a doubt, along with Davide Calabria.
Tammy Abraham is expected to lead the line, with Christian Pulisic, Emerson Royal and Ruben Loftus-Cheek all hoping to keep their places in the starting lineup too.
How to watch AC Milan vs Liverpool
17:36 , Matt Verri
TV channel: The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime. Coverage starts at 7pm BST ahead of an 8pm kick-off at San Siro.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch via the Amazon Prime website and app.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action right here with us!
Good evening!
17:30 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of AC Milan vs Liverpool!
It’s a huge start to this season’s Champions League, with a heavyweight encounter on the opening night of the competition.
Sure the news has reached you all by now that it’s a new format this season. One big league, 36 teams in it, each club plays eight matches.
More on that later, as we bring you all the latest build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 8pm BST from the San Siro. Stay with us!
