AC Milan VS Red Bull Salzburg

Milan welcome visitors from Austria for this sixth round of UEFA Champions League Group E clash at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza early Thursday Beijing time. This is the last round before the Play Offs start after next year and the stakes are high! Both teams have a genuine chance of qualifying for the Play Offs where two of the best teams from each group qualify for. I expect a good-level and entertaining match to watch here! The Italian hosts currently occupy the second place with seven points to their account. Their goal difference is 7:6. Salzburg, on the other hand, have one point less in the pocket and score difference of 5:5. They need to win this match to qualify. I'm not saying that they will not have a chance but Milan are still very clear favorites here. They are the better team in all areas of the game. Especially in terms of offensive player's individual skill level. Salzburg will need to be aggressive here and take risks to have chance of winning.. I believe this will cost them! Their defense is not in reality as good as the only five goals conceded would reflect! Milan can indeed be very dangerous on counter attacks. I do not, however, think that that Milan will try to just secure a draw here in front of very enthuastic but also demanding fans. I expect them to control the match and hopefully to score already in the first half..

The teams locked horns in the first round and Milan were definitely the better team on the pitch recording 65% ball possession and more passes, completed passes, attacks and dangerous attacks. Salzburg did, however, have a few more scoring chances. Furthermore, Milan were excellent in their most recent match in this competition and crushed Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 away from home after a fine performance! Let's remember that the Croatian club hardly ever loses at home and even beat Chelsea at their stadium. According to a well-known and respected German website Transfermarkt.com the hosts’ squad is valued at whopping 550.55 million euros. The visitors’ players have a total market value of just 203.93 million. The market values can, of course, be misleading, but the bookies and many professional football bettors pay more and more attention to these numbers.. The football (players) market is, after all, a global one. However, if two players are equally good and one of them is 20 years old and the other is 30 years old the younger guy, of course, has a much bigger market value. In my view, Milan's players' estimated market value million is too low! At least five players are under-valued. Salzburg on the other hand, are, in my view, weaker on the pitch than the appximately 200 million would indicate.. At least four players are, in reality, not worth their listed market value..