AC Milan vs Newcastle - Preview

It's a first ever meeting between AC Milan and Newcastle on Tuesday night

Newcastle play their first Champions League game in 20 years on Tuesday when they travel to play an AC Milan side reeling from their 5-1 Milan Derby thrashing on the weekend.

The Magpies were on a three game losing streak before beating Brentford 1-0 on Saturday thanks to a controversial penalty awarded to Anthony Gordon. That win has given them a bit of momentum heading to the San Siro, but their away form does still remain a concern.

Eddie Howe's side have only won one of their last five competitive away games and with wins proving hard to come by on the road, this first Champions League fixture could prove tough.

Sandro Tonali is expected to play against the side he left in the summer which adds a bit of emotion to the game and was perhaps a reason behind him not starting on the weekend, with Howe keen to ensure he was fit for this one.

AC Milan were thrashed 5-1 by their neighbours Inter on the weekend, but that is an anomaly for them this season as they have had a strong start in Serie A. They had won their three games previous, including an impressive win against Roma with 10 men.

Fikayo Tomori was sent off in that game and his defensive attributes were certainly missed in last weekend's drubbing. He will be back for this Champions League fixture, which is a big positive for the home side.

AC Milan predicted lineup vs Newcastle

AC Milan predicted lineup vs Newcastle (4-3-3): Maignan; Calabria, Tomori, Kjaer, Hernandez; Reijnders, Krunic, Loftus-Cheek; Chukwueze, Giroud, Leao

Newcastle predicted lineup vs AC Milan

Newcastle predicted lineup vs AC Milan (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Tonali; Gordon, Isak, Barnes

AC Milan vs Newcastle Match Facts

Milan have won just two of their last 14 Champions League games against English teams (D3 L9), home wins against Arsenal in 2012 (4-0) and Spurs in 2023 (1-0).

Newcastle United’s last European match against an Italian side was in November 2006 away at Palermo in the UEFA Cup, winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from Albert Luque.

This is the fourth time Milan will face an English team in their first game in a major European campaign – they’ve not won any of the previous three (0-0 vs Everton in 1975-76 UEFA Cup, 0-0 vs Chelsea in 1999-00 Champions League, 2-3 vs Liverpool in 2021-22 Champions League).