Tottenham Hotspur vs AC Milan: Wednesday, 8:00pm
Team news
Hugo Lloris, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur remain sidelined. Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min and Harry Kane will form Spurs’ forward line.
Rafael Leao and Rade Krunic are available after domestic bans. Brahim Diaz, who scored the winner in the first leg, could return. First-choice goalkeeper Mike Maignan is back after missing the first leg.
Recent Form
- Milan’s 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina at the weekend was their first defeat in five games
- They had kept four consecutive clean sheets in four wins previously
- Spurs have lost their last two games without scoring
- Spurs have lost six of their last 11 games in all competitions
What has been said?
After the defeat at Wolves, Tottenham assistant Cristian Stellini said: “I think the performance was good, particularly in the first half when we controlled the game in every aspect. We had some chances to score. We were not so nasty in the way to score. When you have a chance like this, you have to kill the game.
“Antonio will be a massive boost for us from tomorrow until the end of the season,”
After defeat at Fiorentina, Stefano Pioli said: “We prepared the game well, but Fiorentina did better than us especially in the first half, in terms of quality and energy, as they won most of the duels. We did better in the second half and had chances to equalise, while we should’ve done better on the penalty, but the first half performance was not good enough.”
Tottenham Hotspur vs AC Milan Verdict
Antonio Conte will return to the Spurs dug-out on Wednesday night and that could be the most significant piece of Spurs team news.
Assistant Cristian Stellini has stepped in for the last four games and done a decent job, but Spurs looked flat in attack in the weekend’s defeat at Wolves. They definitely need a lift from somewhere and Conte’s return could be the fillip they require.
Spurs, who were depleted in midfield, were in control of the first leg for long spells, without really carving the hosts open. But they did survive two scares late on which would have given them a mountain to climb.
Milan are not a force they once were and away from home they have failed to win four of their last five away matches. Having won the Serie A last season, they have struggled this time around and Stefano Pioli is under pressure.
They do of course have a one-goal cushion and know a draw will be good enough for them to make the last eight. But that narrow margin may not be enough against a Spurs team who brushed Chelsea and West Ham aside in their last two home games.
Tottenham Hotspur vs AC Milan Key stats
- Tottenham have seen under 2.5 goals in their last five matches against AC Milan in all competitions
- Tottenham defeated Marseille and Eintracht Frankfurt at home in the CL group stage
- When Tottenham lead 1-0 at home they win in 86% of their matches
- AC Milan were on a four-match winning rune before defeat last time out at Fiorentina
- AC Milan won only one of their CL group away games – at Dinamo Zagreb
