Overview
Liverpool face AC Milan in their first Champions League match of the season. This is also the first match coach Arne Slot leads The Kop in the European arena.
The two sides have contrasting circumstances heading into this clash, with Liverpool's brilliant start coming to a sudden and unexpected halt at home to Nottingham Forest.
Nottingham Forest claimed their first away win against Liverpool since February 1969, ending a run of 25 league games without a win at Anfield.
Meanwhile, Milan finally got their first win of the new season when they beat Venezia 4-0. This victory helped relieve the pressure on coach Paulo Fonseca.
Slot will now turn his attention to Europe, where Liverpool are back in the Champions League after a year in the Europa League. Last season, when he was in charge of Feyenoord, Slot could only manage a third-place finish in the Champions League group stage with the Dutch side.
Despite facing a tough fixture list, Liverpool can still be confident of three points against AC Milan. They have won four of their last five away games against Italian sides in European competition, all of which have come since 2020. They also recorded a double victory over Milan in the 2021-2022 Champions League group stage.
Mohamed Salah has started the 2024-2025 Premier League season on fire and is also doing well in Europe. Salah's 41 Champions League goals for Liverpool are the most by any player for an English club.
Meanwhile, Milan are unbeaten in their last four Champions League games against English opposition (W2 D2). They have never been unbeaten in five consecutive games against English opposition in the C1/Champions League.
Head to head record
This will be the fifth time Milan and Liverpool have met in European competition, with half of their previous encounters having been in the Champions League final. Liverpool won on penalties in the 2004-05 season, while Milan won 2-1 in the 2006-07 season.
Liverpool have won all three of their Champions League games at the Giuseppe Meazza. They are the only team to have visited the Giuseppe Meazza more than once and still maintain a 100% winning record.
Score prediction
Despite playing away, the "Red Brigade" is still rated with a 48.2% chance of winning this match. Meanwhile, AC Milan only has a 27.5% chance of successfully retaining 3 points at home. The remaining 24.3% is the scenario where the two teams will share points.
Prediction: AC Milan 1-2 Liverpool
The match between AC Milan and Liverpool takes place at 2:00 a.m. on September 18 (Vietnam time).
