Salzburg vs AC Milan prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2022-09-05 19:00.
Now boasting nine straight domestic league titles, Salzburg are in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage for the fourth time in a row. This year’s draw has been somewhat unkind though, with the Austrian champions set to face two multi-UCL winners, but a perfect competitive record since the start of August (W6) can only have had a positive psychological impact.
While very few will back them for progress in a second straight season, Salzburg posted an unbeaten home record in last season’s UCL including qualifiers (W4, D1). Amongst the wins was their first UCL success over a reigning champion from a top-five European league (Lille), making the Red Bull Arena seem more of a fortress than many visitors might imagine.
That said, AC Milan will arrive full of confidence after securing an impressive 3-2 victory over bitter rivals Inter on Saturday, giving them their best five-game start to a Serie A title defence this century (W3, D2). Now attention shifts to continental action, as they aim to win the UCL as Italian champions for the first time since 1994.
With champion status protecting them from tougher teams for now, and Milan accounting for seven of the 12 European Cup / UCL trophies ever won by Italian teams, nothing but the best will do. That should mean a winning start in practice, and another addition to Milan’s already-strong record from UCL matchday one fixtures under the current format (W8, D2, L1).
Players to watch: The opening scorer in Salzburg’s 2-0 weekend win over WSG Tirol, Noah Okafor, scored three goals after half-time across his side’s last two UCL group stage home games of 2021/22. As for Milan, Junior Messias netted the winner in their only UCL victory last campaign, while three of his previous five goals have changed the scoreline to 2-0.
Hot stat: Milan’s last five UCL games won or lost have each seen the deciding goal come after half-time.