Tottenham Hotspur vs AC Milan
They have already given Roma a hiding, and now Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs are ready to take on another giant of the Italian game.
The next ICC 2018 clash is Spurs vs Milan at the 66,000-capacity US Banks Stadium in Minnesota. This may be a different prospect as Poch is pitched against one of the warhorses of Serie A, Milan’s boss Gennaro Gattuso.
Gattuso is a legend in the red half of Milan where he excelled as a no-nonsense midfield general, and then last season he took over as head coach midterm and inspired a better second half of the season, including a Coppa Italia final against Juventus.
Talking points
It’s a pre-season clash between two sides with ambition but they both probably need to strengthen to improve on last season. Spurs made the Champions League while Milan is in the Europa League, and there will be almighty scraps for a top four place in both the Premier League and Serie A next season.
Both leagues are incredibly competitive and teams at the top end can’t afford to stand still but neither has made any big moves in the transfer market yet. Spurs fans, particularly, are getting a little anxious with only two weeks to go and hope that their coach can pull a rabbit or two out of the hat. They would dearly love to see their former hero Gareth Bale return to mark Spurs’ arrival at their new home.
Gattuso has made one or two moves; midfielder Alen Halilovic has been brought in alongside striker Fabio Borini, though the ex-Sunderland man has already been linked with a quick return to the Premier League with West Ham. Make of that what you will!
Milan fans may be more anxious about who they might be losing from their squad. Young goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is a hot property and there is talk of a move to the Premier League if Chelsea loses its number one, Thibaut Courtois. Ex England keeper Robert Green has recently arrived at Stamford Bridge but surely the 38-year-old is there as a back-up; so we’ll have to keep an eye on that one.
The Rossoneri has also been linked with a move for Spurs midfielder Moussa Dembele.
Milan’s 2017 marquee signing made an impact for sure, Leonardo Bonucci has been one of the best centre-backs in European football for a decade and he was the man who teed up Suso for his goal in the draw with Manchester United last week. Milan eventually lost that game in a 26 shot penalty shootout, nine to eight.
Maybe they need to work on their dead ball skills!
Spurs are still without many of their World Cup stars including France skipper Hugo Lloris. Playmaker Christian Eriksen is already with the squad, however, and the back-up has been doing pretty well. Fernando Llorente scored twice in Spurs’ spectacular 4-1 win over Roma and the striker will be keen to stake more of a claim for a place since his transfer from Swansea City last summer.
Spurs can’t claim to be any more successful from 12 yards than Milan, having held Barcelona to a draw and then losing the shootout. But they seem pretty relaxed about the whole thing, spending their spare time scooting around Los Angeles on a shopping spree on two wheels!
History
There isn’t much to work on here but previous Spurs vs Milan results are in the Whites’ favour; the last meeting was a 2-0 friendly win, but the previous encounter was anything but friendly.
Gennaro Gattuso was in the Milan side which lost to Spurs in the last 16 of the 2011 Champions League, and that might just put him in the mood to push his players onto a win in the US. We don’t expect to see many yellow cards in Minnesota but there were plenty flying around that night as Spurs executed a smash and grab and then headed back to London in a hurry!
Recent form is pretty even, both teams have won four from seven in all competitions, spanning the end of last season to this pre-season.
What are the odds?
This is going to be a fascinating game between two fairly well-matched sides. So let’s take a peek at the Spurs vs Milan betting odds.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men are marginal favourites at odds of 2.44 with Milan at 2.83 and the draw 3.15.
Our SBOBET odds, with Draw no Bet, has Spurs at 1.82 with Milan at 2.11
With no Harry Kane here, Llorente could start again but he’ll do well to bag another brace. Over 2.50 goals is at odds of 1.82 with under 2.50 at 2.08.
It does look like being a tight affair; 2 to 3 goals is at odds of 1.85 and the most likely result a 1-1 draw at 5.60.
If there’s a penalty shootout, though, they could be there ‘til midnight!
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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