Porto vs Milan: Can the Rossoneri finally get UCL campaign up and running?

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Porto, AC Milan, UEFA Champions League

Milan will be seeking a much needed first win in this season's UCL campaign when they travel to face Porto on Tuesday, October 19th.

Preview: Porto vs Milan

Milan come into this upcoming match having fought from two goals down to secure a well-deserved 3-2 win over Hellas Verona. That result now sees the Rossoneri in second spot in the table, two points behind a Napoli side who are still going strong after eight rounds. However, while Milan have gone from strength to strength in Serie A, the same can't be said about their Champions League adventure to date. Back in European club football's premier competition for the first time in eight seasons, it's been a difficult start to proceedings for Stefano Pioli's side.

First was a 3-2 loss to familiar foes Liverpool, followed by a 2-1 home loss to Atletico Madrid - the same Atleti who dumped them out of the Champions League eight years ago during the round of 16. As such, the Rossoneri will be keen on getting some much needed points on the board, as they sit bottom of the table after two games.

It may be easier said than done, though. Milan's upcoming hosts Porto haven't had the best campaign so far in this tournament. The Dragons, who have earned just one point thus far, recently were humiliated 5-1 by Liverpool and will be hoping to avoid their first group stage exit since the 2015/16 season. Like Milan, Porto are pretty much cruising along in their domestic league, and also sit in second spot, just one point behind current league leaders Benfica.

For Sergio Conceicao, this game will be quite interesting as he was part of the 1996/97 Porto side who faced Milan during the group stages of the European Cup. Those two games saw Porto record a 3-2 win, followed by a one-all draw, and so naturally, he'll be looking to spearhead a positive result for his team here.

Team news: Porto vs Milan

Porto: Although Chancel Mbemba will miss out due to injury, Porto have been given a huge boost with the returns of Mateus Uribe, Luis Diaz and Jesus Corona from international commitments.

Milan: The Rossoneri are facing a major injury crisis at the moment, to say the least. Mike Maignan, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Alessandro Florenzi and Ante Rebic are all out, with Maignan's absence especially being difficult given Milan's lack of available goalkeepers. New signing Antonio Mirante, brought in as an emergency signing on a free transfer, isn't yet fit to join the squad. Meanwhile, Franck Kessie is suspended after being sent off during the loss to Atletico, while both Theo Hernandez and Brahim Diaz have contracted COVID-19 and thus will also have to miss out.

Match facts: Porto vs Milan

This will be the ninth meeting between Porto and Milan
So far, Milan's record is W3 D3 L2
Porto and Milan are meeting for the first time since the 2003 UEFA Super Cup, which was won by the Rossoneri
The Diavolo are aiming to avoid losing back to back away European ties for the first time since 2012