AC Milan team news v Liverpool: Pulisic to star in Champions League showdown

AC Milan will look to keep momentum after their first win of the season as they take on Liverpool at San Siro in the opening round of Champions League fixtures on Tuesday.

Paulo Fonseca, linked with the vacant Liverpool job earlier in the year, failed to win his first three fixtures. However, he will hope his side have increased confidence after defeating Venezia 4-0 at the weekend, with four goals in the first half an hour of the game.

Read more: Pulisic delighted with 'lucky' Liverpool draw

Their captain, Theo Hernandez, scored after just 90 seconds, and summer signing, the Liverpool-linked Youssouf Fofana got the second, before ex-Chelsea stars Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham converted penalties.

The 51-year-old coach now moves on to the Champions League, becoming just the second Portuguese manager to take charge of an Italian side in the competition after Jose Mourinho, who was at the helm for Inter Milan’s 2009/10 win.

Liverpool and Milan faced off in the 2021/22 season, with Liverpool winning home and away,

and cult hero and Milan outcast Divock Origi

scoring in the 2-1 win at San Siro.

Fonseca not expected to rotate heavily

Fonseca was impressed with the improvements his team made on the weekend, and will now look for revenge against a Liverpool side who suffered their first defeat of the season, at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Fonseca is not expected to rotate heavily, with three changes on the cards according to a report from MilanNews.

Fikayo Tomori is set to return to the starting XI ahead of Matteo Gabbia. Club captain, Davide Calabria, will come in for Emerson Royal at right-back, and Alvaro Morata also may return. The Spanish striker scored on his debut for the club, but hasn’t started since due to injury.

Origi frozen out by AC Milan

The midfield will stay the same, and Rafael Leao and Christian Pulisic will start on the wings. The American wideman has started the season well, despite the Rossoneri’s mixed start, and has two goals and two assists in the last three games.

Midfielder Ismael Bennacer and defender Malik Thiaw remain out, whilst Luka Jovic was left out of the Champions League squad.

There will also be no fairytale return to Anfield for Origi, with the Belgian striker no longer a part of Milan’s first team, and currently registered with Milan Futuro, the Italian side’s reserve team.

Predicted Milan XI

(4-2-3-1): Maignan - Calabria, Tomori, Pavlovic, Hernandez - Fofana, Loftus-Cheek - Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao, Morata.