St James’ Park will be rocking on Wednesday evening, as Newcastle host AC Milan. It’s a must win game for both clubs and we should witness a thriller. That said, when the teams met at the San Siro, the score was 0-0.
Newcastle
Eddie Howe has done a remarkable job at Newcastle United, but the shortened turnaround of matches that comes with European football seems to have taken its toll on the squad. Nevertheless, the Magpies have picked up five points in the Champions League, winning just one of their five matches. They’ve also struggled in attack, netting an average of a goal per game, but they’ve conceded the second fewest in the group, five.
Last weekend, Newcastle suffered a heavy 4-1 away defeat to Spurs, not the ideal warmup for such a big game this Wednesday. The visitors were dominated from minute one, with almost every individual visibly looking fatigued.
AC Milan
The Rossoneri are currently at the bottom of Group F on five points. After failing to score in their first three matches, it seemed as though Milan would struggle to make it out of the group, however they have a chance to qualify if they beat Newcastle and PSG lose in Germany, but a Europa League spot is up for grabs in third. Stefano Pioli’s biggest problem has been in front of the goal, as despite registering plenty of attempts, they’ve only scored three times. They’ve also conceded the joint most in the group, seven.
Milan’s preparation for this game was also an away defeat, as they lost 3-2 to Atalanta. The hosts deservedly won, and they took the lead twice before scoring the winner in stoppage time.
Verdict?
Milan struggled to cope with Atalanta’s counter-attacking play style at the weekend, which is something that Newcastle will adopt and attempt to take advantage of at times throughout the game, even though they’re at home.
The Magpies have surprisingly picked up the fewest points at home out of all the teams in the group. However, Milan have failed to win and score in two attempts on the road.
The final prediction is Newcastle 2-1 AC Milan.
