Bayer Leverkusen-Milan: Morata towards forfeit. Time and where to watch it

Leverkusen (Germany), 30 September 2024 – Galvanised by three convincing consecutive victories obtained against Venezia, Inter and Lecce, theMilan is ready to dive back into the Champions League because tomorrow evening, at 21pm (live on Sky Sport and Sky Calcio), they will visit Bayer Leverkusen. An important test for the Rossoneri, who will have to continue the progress made in recent weeks and recover from the defeat in their debut against Liverpool to earn their first European points: “I think it will be a different match – he explained AC Milan coach Paulo Fonseca in the press conference –, but at the same time I think it will be similar to the one we played a few weeks ago against Liverpool. We must try to give continuity to the progress made in this last period. I think there has been growth in terms of defensive strength and the one against Bayer will be a good test to evaluate our defensive capabilities. I told the boys that to be able to beat a team with the qualities of Bayer Leverkusen, a practically perfect match on the defensive level will be needed. I am very confident, but I repeat that this will be another match. It is true that in these last league games we have done well but Serie A is different from the Champions League. Reading Xabi Alonso's words, I feel like saying that the same things are always said about Italian teams: that they defend well. I would like instead to talk about Milan as a team that plays differently. It is clear that against Bayer, who are a strong team, we will defend but when we have the ball we have to try to play”. The only flaw should be the absence of Morata, who came out of the match against Lecce a bit bruised: "He gritted his teeth to play last Friday. He is doubtful and we will try to manage him. We will see how he is but we don't want to take any risks".  

The choices of Fonseca and Xabi Alonso

With the Spaniard's probable absence, Milan should take to the field with a formation similar to 4-2-3-1: he should return to the centre of the defensive package in front of Maignan pavlovic to pair up with Gabbia, while on the right there should be the Captain Calabria's return from the 1st minute, with Theo Hernandez deployed on the left wing. The dam in front of the defense should instead be formed by Reijnders and Fofana, while Leao, Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic will have the task of supporting the striker Abraham. Xabi Alonso's Bayer Lerverkuse should instead take to the field with a three-man defenceand: specifically, Tapsoba, Tah and Hincapie should be the three central defenders deployed to protect goalkeeper Hradecky. Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich and Grimaldo will make up the midfield, behind the attacking trident Terrier-Boniface-Wirtz. Times and where to see the race: Bayer Leverkusen – Milan, hot for the second day of the Champions League 2024-2025, will be broadcast on Tuesday 1 October at 21:XNUMX live on Sky Sport and Sky Calcio Probable lineups: Bayer Leverkusen (3-4-3): Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, Grimaldo; Terrier, Boniface, Wirtz. Coach: Xabi Alonso. Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Gabbia, Pavlovic, Theo Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Abraham. All.: Fonseca.