Both need victories: theirs and Borussia’s.
About Newcastle affairs
– Recently, the Magpies have had to deal with the same problematic club as themselves. Both Spurs and Newcastle have lost their core to injury. For this reason they blocked the championship and found themselves not far from each other. And even with such an opponent, Eddie Howe’s team failed to score points: they received a defeat (1:4).
– In the Premier League, Newcastle are trying to get back into the Champions League zone. The team finished the last championship in 4th place in the table, but then did not have to combine nuclear submarine with the Champions League. The managers of Liverpool and Manchester City have said several times that the English calendar does not spare the players. And this is exactly what the newly minted great was not ready for. First there were 3 defeats in the first rounds nuclear submarine, with the start of the European Cups a new recession occurred. The “magpies” alternated victories with draws and defeats, so they did not fall below a certain level, but they could not get into the top 5. The chance came in the match against Tottenham. Howe’s team was 1 point behind Spurs, who closed the Champions Cup zone: they just had to beat a problematic team. Now Newcastle are 4 points behind Londoners, and Brighton and West Ham are pressing from below.
– But we will hardly be able to reproach the coaching staff, as well as the team. They are mastered at a completely new level, when it is necessary to combine the championship and two cup tournaments Champions League. There is not yet enough experience or personnel reserve. Moreover, in the main European Cup, the team immediately fell into the “group of death”: the English ended up in the same quartet with Paris Saint-Germain (hegemon of League 1), Milan (semifinalist of the last Champions League) and Borussia Dortmund (Bayern’s eternal rival and “dark horse” of European competitions). We started with a match against the Rossoneri and we drew. Then there was a charming defeat PSG, but 2 failures against Dortmund (0:1 and 0:2). The Howe Gang managed to salvage their playoff chances Champions League, snatching the draw from the Parisians. Now, to move on to the next stage, they need not only the victory over Milan, but also another miracle from Borussia: the “yellow-blacks” will meet the Parisians in the last round.
– There is nothing easier with the list of wounded. The main goalkeeper Nick Pope was added there (now they are ready to urgently sign Lloris). Here he is in the company of Botman, Targett, Burn (defense group), Willock, Anderson (midfielders), Barnes and Murphy (wingers).
Newcastle’s lineup (4-3-3): Dubravka – Livramento, Cher, Lascelles, Trippier – Miley, Guimaraes, Joelinton – Gordon, Isak, Almiron.
On the affairs of Milan
– The progress of the Rossoneri is not as obvious as the owners hoped. It was the second season since the last championship: after winning the title, the club’s managers hoped that the team would at least slightly lose its position. Milan, in fact, was immediately relegated to 5th place. Then they found an explanation: the team had to get used to the status of one of the candidates for the championship, the title was won by a young and inexperienced team. Now we need to undergo hardening. Pioli was dropped as head coach because, despite failure in Serie A, the Rossoneri achieved success in the Champions League – they reached the semi-final, where they lost to Inter. In the summer they spared no expense in strengthening, but even so the team is only third in the league, and in Champions League – last.
– It was Milan that was supposed to become the protagonist of the showdown for the championship in the new season – they and Inter conducted transfer campaigns of different nature, but both approached the championship as favourites. It was like this until December: after the victory over Genoa, Milan even beat their competitor. It’s true, then they lost against Juve, shared points with Napoli and lost against Udinese. They also recently left Atalanta without points. Juventus unexpectedly became a worthy opponent of Inter: the gap between them is only 2 points. Milan are third, but are 7 points behind Torino and 9 behind the Nerazzurri.
– The draw with Newcastle in the 1st round did not seem critical: the trip to Dortmund was ahead. It became more worrying when we only managed to score 1 point against Borussia. Even worse – after the devastating 0:3 PSG. In the last round the Rossoneri took revenge on the Parisians (2:1) and once again lost to Dortmund – and it was with the “yellow-blacks” that the Italians should have won points in the standings.
– Even under Stefano Pioli the chair began to shake. He is once again struggling with resignation. They would say goodbye to the Italian coach without thinking twice if the team remained without the playoffs Champions League. The owners were counting on the prize money to move on to the next stage: if this doesn’t happen, the Rossoneri will be missing 160 million euros.
Milan’s provisional lineup (4-2-3-1): Maignan – Florenzi, Hernandez, Tomori, Calabria – Musa, Reynders, Loftus-Cheek – Pulisic, Giroud, Chukwueze.
About the fight
– The only match between the two teams – and it ended with a dry 0:0. This is not El Clasico, this is not Real City. On the other hand there is more unpredictability. The previous game suggests we should expect a close game, but what if they play some brilliant attacking football?
Forecast Soccer.ru: It’s always difficult to play away from home against English teams. On the other hand, the infirmary of the “forty” has almost all the main clip, so there will be no one to update the game. Pioli knows how to walk on the blade without falling: thanks to the away victory, it will be the same this time too (but Borussia also needs a victory).
