AC Milan and Zenit St. Petersburg's match on Tuesday has relatively high stakes for both sides.
Milan has already clinched a second round berth in the UEFA Champions League (UCL), but can still tie Malaga for first in the group if they win and Malaga loses its match with Anderlecht. Milan's UCL campaign has been modest to be sure as the team has compiled two wins, two draws, and one loss. Their tournament got off to a rocky start with a 0-0 draw with Anderlecht, but they got some luck when they defeated Zenit St. Petersburg 3-2. Malaga defeated them 1-0, but they managed a 1-1 draw in the follow up before making a statement against Anderlecht on the road with a 3-1 win. They will be home against the inconsistent Zenit St. Petersburg, which could help their aspirations of still taking the group.
St. Petersburg has higher stakes than Milan. This team was once billed to win the group long before the matches actually started, but it has not materialized like that at all. They lost an embarrassing 3-0 match to Malaga to get things started before scoring an own goal to seal the 3-2 win for Milan. Then they exchanged 1-0 results with Anderlecht before salvaging a 2-2 draw against Malaga. This team needs to win and preserve a higher goals differential than Anderlecht so expect a highly aggressive display from Zenit St. Petersburg. If they lose or draw, then the same result must occur for Anderlecht (and by more goals against preferably) in order to at least salvage a round of 32 Europa League berth.
Prediction: Zenit will come out flying. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain from this match.. AC Milan has been inconsistent all year and could potentially come out flat for this one. Zenit wins 3-2.
Start Time: 2:45 PM EST
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