Two European giants will lock horns on Wednesday in London as Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan fight for a spot in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
The game promises to be a thriller, as both sides suffered defeats in their respective leagues over the weekend.
Despite Tottenham registering 21 shots, they failed to find the back of the net against Wolverhampton Wanderers, resulting in a 1-0 defeat. Meanwhile, Milan suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Fiorentina, with Theo Hernandez’s late goal serving as a mere consolation.
Milan holds the upper hand heading into the second leg, following a 1-0 victory at the San Siro three weeks ago. The Italian side has won three consecutive games in the competition – as many as they had in their previous 17 UCL games (D5 L9).
Tottenham has lost each of its last four UCL knockout games, dating back to their underwhelming final against Liverpool in the 2018-19 season, failing to score each time. The last game in that run saw Milan secure their first-ever victory over Spurs in European competition at the fifth attempt.
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Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski will be key players for the side, as they aim to break down Milan’s sturdy backline.
However, the Spurs’ inconsistency in goal scoring could prove to be a challenge, as they have failed to score in both halves in any of their seven UCL games this season, even failing to score at all on three separate occasions.
Milan, on the other hand, has scored 13 goals so far this season, their highest in a single campaign since 2011-12. The Italian side came through in second place in Group E, despite losing two games to eventual group winners Chelsea.
However, Milan’s record against English sides in the Champions League is not impressive, having won just 26% of their games against English sides (W6 D6 L11), their lowest win rate against sides from any nation (minimum three meetings).
The match promises to be full of goals, as the last seven UCL games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have seen a total of 30 goals scored, at an average of 4.3 per game. Tottenham’s only goalless draw in 25 home games in the competition came in their only meeting with Milan back in March 2011.
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PLAYERS TO WATCH
TOTTENHAM: Harry Kane
The game will be a record-breaking moment for Harry Kane, who will make his 67th appearance for Tottenham in a major European competition, moving clear of Hugo Lloris as the club’s all-time leader. Kane will be hoping to add to the six goals he has scored in his last six Champions League games on home soil to lead his team to the quarter-finals.
MILAN: Olivier Giroud
Meanwhile, Olivier Giroud will be the player to watch for Milan, having been involved in six goals (four goals, two assists) in his last six UCL appearances.
The Frenchman, who previously played for Arsenal and Chelsea, could become the second Frenchman to score 5+ goals in a single Champions League campaign for three different clubs, having scored six for Chelsea (2020-21) and five with Arsenal (2015-16).
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