Liverpool’s ultimate mid-season friendly pits them against defending Serie A champions AC Milan at Dubai’s Al Maktoum Stadium on Friday at 3.30 pm.
Jurgen Klopp’s understrength side opened their warm-weather preparation with a 3-1 defeat to Lyon last weekend despite taking a first-minute lead through Fabio Carvalho.
Mohamed Salah, a rare first-team regular to start the game after Egypt failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, spurned a spot-kick to double the Reds’ advantage, which eventually came back and haunted them.
Following last season’s busted quadruple bid, the Merseyside heavyweights have immensely struggled on multiple fronts and are already way off the Premier League title pace.
With a mammoth Carabao Cup tie against Manchester City waiting in the wings, Liverpool will be looking to round off their warm-up campaign on a high against familiar foes.
Reigning Serie A champions Milan found themselves on the receiving end of a 2-1 scoreline against Arsenal in their opening mid-season friendly, with Stefano Pioli missing a host of first-team stars.
After Friday’s friendly, the Rossoneri will meet PSV Eindhoven in another exhibition match on December 30 before Serie A’s return in 2023, where they currently lag eight points behind pacesetters Napoli.
Milan’s hopes of winning back-to-back Serie A titles for the first time in the 21st century are up in the air, as Pioli’s men need to fashion a massive comeback to knock high-flying Napoli off their perch.
Match Preview
Liverpool
Liverpool thrashed Southampton 3-1 at Anfield on the stroke of the World Cup break to stay within a seven-point distance of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.
While they remain firmly in the Premier League top-four picture, Klopp’s team must reduce mistakes to a bare minimum following a frustrating 14-game start (W6, D4, L4).
Advancing into the Champions League knockout stage after a dreadful 4-1 defeat to Serie A leaders Napoli on matchday one has been a rare positive in an otherwise disappointing season for Liverpool.
AC Milan
Milan’s effort to retain the Scudetto may not be going according to plan, but Pioli’s men have at least reached the Champions League round of 16 for the first time since 2013/14.
With Antonio Conte’s Tottenham awaiting them in the first knockout tie, it is no surprise the Rossoneri wanted to test their credentials against two Premier League titans during the mid-season break.
Before losing to Arsenal, the Italians had enjoyed a decent four-match unbeaten streak across all competitions (W3, D1), netting an average of 2.66 goals per win in that span.
Liverpool vs AC Milan Head-to-Head
Despite failing to keep a clean sheet, Liverpool outperformed Milan in both encounters in last season’s Champions League group stages, winning each leg 2-1 and 3-2, respectively.
Those triumphs form part of the Reds’ four-game winning H2H streak against the Rossoneri since a 2-1 loss in the 2007 Champions League grand final.
Liverpool and Milan first met in the iconic Istanbul final.
After finding themselves 3-0 down at half-time, the Premier League giants pulled off one of the most sensational Champions League comebacks to take the game to penalties.
Jerzy Dudek’s heroics in the shootout helped the Merseyside powerhouse end a 21-year title drought in Europe’s elite competition.
Team News
Luis Diaz faces another long-term spell on the sidelines after a setback in his return from injury. In addition to the Colombian winger, Arthur Melo and Diogo Jota remain on Liverpool’s sizeable list of absentees.
Harvey Elliot’s availability is in the balance after the prodigious midfielder picked up a knock against Lyon last time out. Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson, Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk are unlikely to feature.
Milan cannot call upon Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud, who have played prominent roles in helping France set up a blockbuster World Cup final against Argentina.
While star goalkeeper Mike Maignan remains in the treatment room, Pioli will likely rest last season’s Serie A MVP Rafael Leao due to his exploits with Portugal in Qatar.
Liverpool vs AC Milan Potential Line-ups
Liverpool (4-3-3): Caoimhin Kelleher; Calvin Ramsay, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, Andy Robertson; Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Darwin Nunez.
AC Milan (4-2-3-1): Ciprian Tatarusanu; Pierre Kalulu, Matteo Gabbia, Fikayo Tomori, Malick Thiaw; Ismael Bennacer, Sandro Tonali; Alexis Saelemaekers, Brahim Diaz, Ante Rebic; Divock Origi.
How to Watch?
Friday’s friendly, alongside all other Reds’ fixtures, is available to watch online via Liverpool live streams.
Prediction
Though both sides experienced false starts to the Dubai Super Cup, we expect Liverpool to get back on the rails and maintain their imperious H2H record against Milan.
Liverpool 2-1 AC Milan
