In a repeat of the 20025 and 2007 Champions League finals, Liverpool face Italian giants Milan in Europe’s premier competition this Tuesday.

It’s Arne Slot’s Champions League debut as Liverpool head coach and the Dutchman will want to see significant improvements from Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest. Having won the opening three games of the season impressively, the weekend served as a reality check for the Reds.

Milan have made a stuttering start to the 2024/25 campaign with just one victory from their opening four matches under new coach Paulo Fonseca. However, that triumph did come in their most recent outing, with four goals in the opening half-hour securing a comfortable win over Venezia.

Liverpool and Milan have plenty of history from the noughties, with two Champions League final encounters, but their most recent meetings came in 2021/22. On that occasion, Jurgen Klopp’s side came out victorious in two group stage meetings, including a 3-2 thriller at Anfield.

Here is 90min’s guide to a tantalising clash between two sides that boast 13 Champions League triumphs between them.

Location: Milan, Italy
Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Date: Tuesday 17 August
Kick-off Time: 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT
Referee: Espen Andreas Eskas (NOR)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)

There are plenty of familiar faces for Liverpool supporters to keep an eye out for on Tuesday at San Siro. There are five former Chelsea players in Milan’s squad – Tammy Abraham, Alvaro Morata, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Fikayo Tomori – while Emerson Royal is another with Premier League experience.

Milan have injuries to contend with as well. Ismael Bennacer is missing in the middle of the park and Marco Sportiello and Alessandro Florenzi are also absent, with Malick Thiaw a significant doubt.

Milan predicted lineup vs Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Royal, Tomori, Pavlovic, Hernandez; Fofana, Reijnders; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Abraham.

Injuries haven’t been a challenge for Slot to date but regular midweek excursions will certainly test his squad’s durability. However, the Dutch coach is without Harvey Elliott, who fractured his foot with England’s Under-21s over the September international break.

Slot may make some changes from the squad that fell to a surprise 1-0 defeat to Forest over the weekend, with Cody Gakpo and/or Darwin Nunez stepping into the lineup in Milan. There could be at least one change in midfield, too.

Liverpool predicted lineup vs Milan (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Jones, Diaz; Nunez.

Milan’s patchy start to the season was boosted by a 4-0 win at the weekend but they are still a side in transition. Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Forest suggests that there will be teething problems for Slot and Tuesday’s match-up is tough to predict as a result.

However, Liverpool’s superior quality and generally impressive performances in the opening weeks justifiably lean the odds in their favour. After Saturday’s loss, any win will do for the Reds to kick off their Champions League campaign.