Overview
Feyenoord are going through an unstable period. In the last 4 matches, the home team at De Kuip lost 3 times. In which, the team of coach Brian Priske lost to Lille in the Champions League, was defeated by Ajax in the Dutch national championship. In addition, they were also eliminated by PSV in the 1/8 round of the National Cup.
Things only got a little better when Feyenoord beat relegation-threatened Sparta Rotterdam last weekend.
In the Champions League this season alone, Feyenoord's form has been extremely erratic. They were able to beat Bayern Munich, draw with Man City but lost miserably 1-3 to Salzburg or 1-6 to Lille. Feyenoord is the club that has conceded the most goals out of the 24 teams that have advanced in the Champions League this season, with 21 goals conceded, an average of 2.6 goals per game.
As for AC Milan, they are performing consistently with 3 consecutive unbeaten matches, including a draw against arch-rivals Inter Milan and 2 wins against Roma and Empoli. However, Rossoneri fans are still worried before the trip to the Netherlands as the home team has not known victory in the last 10 away matches in the Champions League knockout round. Specifically, Milan lost 7 matches and drew 3 times.
After 54 years, AC Milan and Feyenoord meet again in the Champions League. Their last meeting in the 1969-70 season saw Milan win 1-0 at the San Siro. However, Feyenoord then responded with a 2-0 win in Rotterdam.
Human resources situation
Feyenoord are expected to be without a number of key players, including Justin Bijlow, Calvin Stengs and Jordan Lotomba. Gernot Trauner and Chris-Kevin Nadje are also sidelined. However, they can count on Igor Paixao, Quinten Timber and David Hancko to bolster their chances of getting a result against Milan.
On the other side of the pitch, Emerson Royal is out until next month with a calf injury, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Pierre Kalulu remain doubts. However, Milan have enough quality in their squad with Reijnders, Pulisic, Leao, Abraham and Gimenez all likely to feature.
Expected lineup:
Feyenoord: Wellenreuther, Nieuwkoop, Beelen, Hancko, Hartman, Timber, Hwang, Moder, Hadj-Moussa, Carranza, Paixao.
AC Milan: Maignan, Walker, Tomori, Thiaw, Hernandez, Fofana, Reijnders, Leao, Gimenez, Pulisic, Abraham.
The match between Feyenoord and AC Milan takes place at 3:00 a.m. on February 13 (Vietnam time).
