AC MILAN v CHELSEA: OPPONENT REVIEW

After a slow start to the first part of the season, Chelsea have regained their rhythm and are back on the road with top performances. The Blues are coming off the back of three wins in a row in the league and the Champions League - scoring eight goals and conceding only one in that time - and have not recorded a longer win streak since last March (six consecutive wins then).

In a very balanced group so far, with all four teams within two points of each other, Chelsea and AC Milan come into this fixture with the same points tally (four each). The London side, however, have a taboo to dispel: they have not won any of the last seven away matches against Italian sides in the Champions League, losing all of the last five between 2010 and 2021; their last success dates back to November 2003 (0-4 against Lazio). Moreover, after the away defeat against Dinamo Zagreb on Matchday 1, Chelsea could lose both of their first two away games in a single season for the first time in their Champions League history.

VERY HIGH AVERAGE POSITIONS, TACKLES AND CROSSES: THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CHELSEA
Chelsea are one of the sides with the highest average position (56.6 metres) in this Champions League campaign. All the areas in the Blues' starting line-up move together and with great precision, resulting in a team with a very compact set-up, packed into only 30.5 metres on the pitch. These characteristics also help the Blues when pressing, resulting in the London club making an impressive 38 offensive recoveries, only fewer than Liverpool and Manchester City.

The Stamford Bridge line-up have also stood out this Champions League season for their high number of tackles - only FC Salzburg recorded more (76) than the Blues (71) - and the search for superiority through wing-play, with 55 crosses: less than only Barcelona and Manchester City (both 57).

ATTENTION ON REECE JAMES AND FORMER PLAYER THIAGO SILVA AT SAN SIRO
Among the many champions in the squad, the figures show that one of Chelsea's main threats is Reece James. In the match against AC Milan last Wednesday, the class of 22-year-old both scored and provided an assist in a single match for the first time in 25 Champions League appearances. Theo Hernández will be facing a tough nut to crack. The Blues' right-back is the second player to have made the most crosses in-play (17) in this year of the Champions League, behind only Ousmane Dembélé (22).

Another English player AC Milan will have to pay close attention to is Raheem Sterling. The 27-year-old has been involved in 23 goals in his last 30 games as a starter in the Champions League group stage (15 goals and 8 assists) - including providing an assist for the winner against the Rossoneri and a goal against FC Salzburg in the previous match. Finally, Thiago Silva will return to the San Siro for the first time as an opponent of the Rossoneri. The central defender could make his 100th Champions League appearance on Tuesday (he currently stands at 99), becoming the fifth Brazilian to reach this milestone in the tournament after Roberto Carlos (120), Dani Alves (111), Fernandinho (103) and Marcelo (102).

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