Tired Legs and Old Flames at San Siro

Ninety-three games, two goals, five trophies. Diego Suárez will not be the main event on Wednesday night, but his presence on the team sheet is enough to give this tie its texture. The midfielder spent five seasons in Madrid, collected silverware with the same hands that now pull on the red and black, and returns to face his former club at a moment when both sides are running on empty.

Milan have lost two of their last three meetings with Athletico, including the most recent, a 1-0 defeat in Spain in January 2062. The Rossoneri have not beaten their opponents at San Siro since November 2060, but this is a different Milan side: one that has kept a clean sheet at home in Europe and is unbeaten in ten league games. The question is whether their tired legs can hold.

Condition reports from the Milan camp show Armin Cottignoli and Diego Maurício both below seventy per cent, with Viviano Neri and Francesco Cirronis jaded. Athletico are no fresher: Patrice Herrmann is running at fifty-four per cent, and Mario Cardozo, who may not start anyway, is carrying a bruised ankle. The visitors are without Bocar Ricciulli and Javier Gago as well, leaving their midfield thinner than usual.

The shape of the game will likely be decided on the flanks. Tariq Tanser, Milan's right-sided midfielder, will test Garoé Ortí, while on the other side José Henrique Arósio, who has three assists in his last three games, will look to exploit Ander Sesma. Athletico's record in their usual 4-2-3-1 is formidable: seventeen wins in twenty games, conceding just twelve goals. Against a 4-4-2, however, they have won two of three, conceding once. Milan's own 4-4-2 has been less convincing against teams using Athletico's shape, with just two wins in six.

The visitors are unbeaten in ten league games, and in form: Alan Kardec and Ángel Gómez have been outstanding at the back, while Krzysztof Dziedzic has three goals in his last five. For Milan, Alan Black has averaged 7.65 over his last four, and Emiliano Amore will contest the air against Farid, who stands at 199 centimetres with a jumping reach that gives him the edge.

Both sides will look to Suárez when the teams are read out. He knows the away dressing room at San Siro as well as the home one. On Wednesday, for the first time, he will walk out of one and into the other with the Champions League anthem in his ears. That, as much as the fatigue and the form, is what this night is about.