This Wednesday is the final night of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage and there are two places up for grabs in the last-16.
From Groups E to H, six clubs have put their names in the draw for the first knockout round with Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City all topping their respective groups. Paris St-Germain, Benfica, and Borussia Dortmund have all qualified as well.
In Group F, Champions League holders Real Madrid expect to be confirmed as group winners when they welcome Celtic to the Santiago Bernabéu. Also in their group, RB Leipzig meet Shakhtar Donetsk on neutral territory with the resurgent German outfit requiring at least a draw to progress beyond the groups for a third time in four seasons.
Leipzig are 3 points above their opposition, whose only win came against the Red Bull franchise before certain personnel changes were enforced. Leipzig were humbled in their home leg to the Ukrainian side, 1-4, but they have since changed manager and are now nine games unbeaten (all competitions) under Marco Rose.
Meanwhile Group E sees Chelsea certain to end as winners with AC Milan and RB Salzburg set to battle it out for the final spot in the Round of 16. A stalemate will be enough for the Rossoneri to qualify, with Salzburg needing victory at the San Siro for them to advance.
Milan have won just two of their five group matches, home and away to Dinamo Zagreb. The Italian champions lost twice to Chelsea after drawing 1-1 in Salzburg.
Milan dropped points last weekend, going down 2-1 to Torino, and they sit third in Serie A. The two teams above them meet this weekend as league leaders Napoli travel to Atalanta. Milan are 6 points behind Napoli with Atalanta a single point above Stefano Pioli’s men.
Pioli, 57, recently signed a new three-year contract at the San Siro, putting an end to speculation surrounding his future. Milan said in a club statement on Monday: “AC Milan is happy to announce Stefano Pioli has extended his contract until 30 June 2025.
“Having begun this virtuous path, which led to the 2021-22 Serie A title, AC Milan and Stefano shall continue to work on this ambitious project which reflects the Club’s history and values.”
Massimiliano Allegri, heir to Carlo Ancelotti’s superteam, left Milan for Juventus which unravelled deep-lying issues in the red half of Milano. There were subsequently seven full-time managers between Allegri’s departure in January 2014 and Pioli’s appointment in October 2019.
Pioli has restored stability and a winning attitude, guiding the Rossoneri to its first Scudetto since 2011 under Allegri. Now, Pioli is eager to celebrate his new contract by seeing the club through to the Champions League Round of 16.
Last year Milan played UCL football for the first time in eight years, albeit they finished bottom of a very competitive Group B which also housed Atletico Madrid, Porto, and eventual runners-up Liverpool.
Prior to that, the last time Milan failed to advance from the group stage came at the turn of this century. 2nd place is the highest Milan can finish in Group E this year, meaning should they progress the seven-time European champions will come up against a group winner in the last-16.
A real sense of the occasion 🔴⚫️
— AC Milan (@acmilan) November 2, 2022
Let’s get the job done 👊
#ACMSAL #UCL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/b4dEs3v5fI
Pioli is without two right-backs in Davide Calabria and Alessandro Florenzi, with Sergino Dest likely to deputise for the sidelined pair. Belgium winger Alexis Saelemaekers is ruled out with a knee injury. Mike Maignan has not played since mid-September and a calf injury puts the France goalkeeper at risk of missing the FIFA World Cup.
According to Bet365, AC Milan are much favoured to advance to the Champions League knockouts with the Rossoneri 1.50 to win on Wednesday evening; RB Salzburg 6.00 to win; 4.50 for a draw. Rafael Leao is 2.75 to get on the scoresheet anytime in the match.
