Chelsea vs AC Milan - Match Preview The Match Chelsea \face AC Milan in the semi final of the Guinness International champions Cup and it takes place on the 4th of August at around half past 6 local time (Half 11 UK time), in New York. The Blues cruised to a 2-0 win over Milan's city rivals Inter on Thursday while Massimiliano Allegri's side squeezed past Valencia 2-1 last weekend at the Mestalla Stadium to setup this intriguing tie. The winner of this match will go onto the final of the tournament to face either Everton or Real Madrid who are going to be playing the day before we do. Inter Milan whom we defeated in the previous round will go on to play Valencia. Their game will take place shortly before we take to the field. The Opposition In recent years, Chelsea haven't faced AC Milan on too many occasions. There have been 3 friendly encounters in the last 5 years of which we have won 2, by margins of 5-0 and 2-1. However the most recent encounter was in pre-season last year where we lost 1-0, to an Emanuelson winner in the 66th minute. AC Milan are expected to be a tougher opponent than Inter Milan, and can pose huge threats from the likes of Stephan El Shaaraway and Sulley Muntari. Team News: AC Milan: Goalkeepers: Christian Abbiati, Marco Amelia, Gabriel Defenders: Luca Antonini, Kevin Constant, Bartosz Salomon, Didac Vila, Cristian Zaccardo, Cristian Zapata, Davide Pacifico, Luca Iotti Midfielders: Kevin-Prince Boateng, Bryan Cristante, Nigel De Jong, Urby Emanuelson, Sulley Ali Muntari, Ricardo Montolivo, Antonio Nocerino, Riccardo Saponara, Rodney Strasser, Bakaye Traore, Davide Pinato Forwards: Mario Balotelli, Giacomo Beretta, Stephan El Shaarawy, M'Baye Niang, Nmandi Oduamadi, Andrea Petagna, Kingsley Boateng Mario Balotelli is set to link up with Milan in New York in his return from an injury suffered at the FIFA Confederations Cup while playing for Italy. Milan was forced to make four changes to its squad due to injury, with Daniele Bonera, Robinho, Phillipe Mexes and Mattia de Sciglio all withdrawing. Four U-19 players have joined the club: Defenders Luca Iotti and Davide Pacifico, midfielder Davide Pinato and forward Kingsley Boateng. (source Goal.com) Probable lineup: Abbiati, Constant, Zaccardo, Zapata, Antonini, Montolivo, Muntari, Boateng, Niang, Balotelli, El Shaarawy (4-3-3). Chelsea: In this game Chelsea would be expected to line up with our normal 4-2-3-1, with all players (barring Lampard, KDB and Schurrle who are doubts) available. Probable lineup: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Terry, Cole, Ramires, MvG, Oscar, Mata, Hazard, Lukaku (4-2-3-1) Though it's still pre-season, there are a variety of different line-ups that Mourinho could choose to implement. Stats and Facts 1. AC Milan came third in the Serie A last Season but despite their third place finish they were only the 5th highest scorers in their league. 2. Stephen El Shaaraway was AC Milan's leading goalscorer with 19 goals in all competitions. 3. Depending on the results of both semi finals, Mourinho could face his old club Real Madrid in the final, if both Chelsea and Real Madrid win or lose their respective games. 4. Chelsea have faced AC Milan 5 times overall - 2 competitively and 3 in friendly - and lost only once - W2 D2 L1. 5. Jose Mourinho has won 4, drawn 1 and lost 1 of his encounters with AC Milan in competitive matches during his time with Inter Milan and Real Madrid. Match Odds Currently unavailable but I would imagine that we would be the favourites going into this game. Though perhaps not as strong favourites as we were against inter Milan. TV The game will be broadcast live on Chelsea TV as all of the preseason games have been. Though it is also likely to be shown on TV in some others countries depending on where in the world you are and on match streams that can be found online. Click Here To View Article
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