uefa champions league preview ac milan vs tottenham hotspur leg-1

With both AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur deprived of key players, this UEFA Champions League clash is perhaps not as exciting an encounter as it might have been a few months ago when the name Gareth Bale was on everyone’s lips. Still, it’s the furthest and highest Spurs have been in a European competition in decades and the atmosphere should be cracking.
For Milan, who have held their place atop Serie A for 13 consecutive weeks, despite challenges from the likes of Napoli, Inter and Lazio, it’s a chance to prove to everyone that they’ve put the later Ancelotti years and Leonardo era behind them and are again the dominant team in Italy.
Despite all the squad changes and managerial turmoil, the core of the Milan team is one that anyone who has even followed Serie A casually will recognize. The ageless Alessandro Nesta remains the key man at the back, and should feature alongside Thiago Silva here after recovering in time for the 4-0 victory over Parma on Saturday.  If Bale were available he might be licking his lips at the prospect of torching the likes of seldom used Massimo Oddo or Mario Yepes, but he’ll have to wait for the return leg.
In midfield, manager Massimiliano Allegri has been missing key figures such as Massimo Ambrosini and Andrea Pirlo through injury, but has been able to piece things together by relying on veterans like Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf. I’d expect both of them to feature on Tuesday, behind a three-man attack of Pato, Ibrahimovic and Robinho. Ibrahimovic has been in outstanding form this season for the Rossoneri, leading the line magnificently and scoring some incredible individual goals, making some Ibra haters look ridiculous in the process. On the other hand, everyone knows about his reputation for disappearing in big games. Antonio Cassano, brought in from Sampdoria, is cup tied, as is Mark Van Bommel.
The big absence for Spurs, as mentioned, is Bale.  Arguably the Premier League’s best attacking player during the first half of the season, he has not been able to recover in time to revisit the scene of his breathtaking hat trick against Inter. Spurs have sputtered recently without his rampaging runs. They’ve also been missing Tom Huddlestone and Rafael van der Vaart, but the latter is expected to be in the lineup for this one, probably playing in behind Jermain Defoe. Roman Pavlyuchenko and Peter Crouch are the other options up front, but Redknapp seems to have no confidence in the Russian, while Crouch is fighting a back problem. Another big question surrounds the status of midfielder Luka Modric, who will probably be an option off the bench, if he plays at all. Niko Kranjcar should take his place.
Even taking into all their injuries, suspensions and missing players, Milan should still favored at home against a depleted Spurs side.  They key will be the ability of Spurs’ fairly inexperienced defense (Gallas the exception) to contain both the speed and guile of Pato and Robinho, and the brute strength of Ibrahimovic.
AC Milan projected starting XI: Abbiati; Oddo, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Antonini; Gattuso, Flamini, Seedorf; Pato, Ibrahimovic, Robinho.
Tottenham Hotspur projected starting XI: Gomes; Corluka, Gallas, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Sandro, Palacios, Kranjcar; Van der Vaart; Defoe.

Prediction: AC Milan 2 Tottenham Hotspur 0

Tibi/worldsoccerreader