TOTTENHAM v AC MILAN: MATCH PREVIEW
Champions League
History cannot be cancelled, but it can be rewritten. In London, AC Milan have just one chance to fill up a new blank page. At stake is a place in the Champions League quarter-finals, where the Rossoneri haven't been since April 2012. Tottenham are the team to knock out, with both a win or a draw on the night enough to go through, thanks to the 1-0 lead from the first leg. Excitement, tension, ready. The last-16 second leg is upon us, with kick-off at 21.00 CET. Here is our Match Preview:
LATEST FROM MILANELLO
The Rossoneri come into the game on the back of the defeat at Fiorentina (1-2), after a month of wins and clean sheets (four on the spin) in Serie A and the Champions League. The setback at the Franchi has slowed down the race for the top-four European slots, but in Europe, there is a different sound. With respect to the first leg, Pioli has Bennacer, Maignan and Tomori back available, as well as Díaz and Giroud - a doubt until yesterday's training session Milanello - even if he probably won't be 100% fit. As such, there's a full-strength squad to pick from. On the eve of the game, the main question seems to be whether to start with Brahim or not, with Krunić and De Ketelaere also in the running. At the back, Thiaw should keep his place, with Messias favourite on the right and Leão in attack, who is back from his suspension in Florence. On the list of being one game away from suspension is Ballo-Touré, Krunić, Tomori and Tonali.
"We go into this one with a lot of confidence, enthusiasm and determination," said Pioli. "We need to approach the game well, keep our shape and hold our nerve. We'll have to be at our best technically and make good decisions. Key moments could make all the difference. The lads will need to put their personality on display. Spurs will be well prepared and highly motivated. They'll play with greater intensity than they did in the first leg."
LATEST FROM TOTTENHAM
Spurs have the luxury of home advantage, but compared with when they came to San Siro they have failed to move their season forward, and it is beginning to stutter. It's currently a bad period for them, and in the Premier League at the weekend they fell to a 1-0 defeat to the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers (goal by Traoré in the final ten minutes), their second consecutive defeat after the FA Cup exit to Sheffield Utd. Conte will have Højbjerg available - suspended for the fixture in Milan - but not Eric Dier, who received a second yellow in the game in February. Otherwise, there shouldn't be any other changes: Forster in goal; Romero, Lenglet and Davies in defence; Emerson, Skipp, Højbjerg and Perišić in midfield; and up top with Kulusevski, Son and Kane. Bentancur, Bissouma, Lloris and Sessegnon are all out, with only Lenglet on a booking.
"When the pressure starts to rise, it usually means the quality and level has gone up a notch, too," Conte said. "It's normal to feel under stress, we need to learn to live with it. We must win the game, and we'll be through, but it's going to be tough because AC Milan are the current champions of Italy and are very strong. To come back, we'll need the full backing of the fans, who help us often to overcame difficult challenges."
WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN ON TV
In Italy, Tottenham v AC Milan will be shown on Amazon Prime Video at 21:00 CET. Starting at 19:30 CET, until kick-off, there's all the build-up on Milan TV's Matchday. After the game, we will have interviews and Stefano Pioli's post-match conference.
LATEST FROM THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The last-16 second legs got underway last night, bringing about the first quarter-finalists from Benfica 5-1 Club Brugge and Chelsea 2-0 Borussia Dortmund, with the Portuguese and English side going through. Today at 21.00 CET, Tottenham v AC Milan (0-1 after first leg) and Bayern Munich v PSG (1-0 after first leg) will be decided.
Then, on Tuesday 14 March, again at 21.00 CET, there's Manchester City v RB Leipzig (1-1 after first leg) and Porto v Inter (0-1). To end the round, there's Real Madrid v Liverpool (5-2) and Napoli v Eintracht Frankfurt (2-0) on 15 March.
REFEREE
In charge of the fixture is Clément Turpin. He has been involved in two AC Milan games: AC Milan 1-1 Porto in the 2021/22 Champions League group stages and AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal in the 2017/18 Europa League Round of 16 first leg. Instead, with Spurs, always in the group stages: Tottenham 2-7 Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 Champions League edition, Inter 2-1 Tottenham in the 2018/19 edition, and Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Tottenham in 2017/18. Assisting the French referee will be Danos and Pages, with Pignard as Fourth official. Hernández, alongside Delajod, is on VAR duty.
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