AC Milan figures you have to fight fire with fire, rather than stand pat while rivals Juventus and Inter Milan improve in the offseason. The club made news on Thursday when they announced that they had agreed to a transfer with fellow Serie A club Juventus for the services of Gonzalo Higuain. Higuain is one of the most talented forwards in the world and will help AC Milan’s attack be even more deadly in 2018. He won’t be on display against Barcelona on Saturday, but his addition is one to keep an eye on.
The International Champions Cup brings some of the top clubs in Europe to cities around the world that normally don’t get to see top flight football. The match will take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California at 8:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 4, 2018. Catch every moment of the match live on ESPN2.
International Champions Cup Betting at BookMaker.eu
Barcelona +147
AC Milan +157
Draw +277
Over/Under 3 and 3.5
Last Matches
This will be Barcelona’s third and final match at the International Champions Cup. The Blaugrana did not bring their best team across the pond, but they have played some exciting matches with both of their games flying over the total.
Last weekend, Barca took on Tottenham Hotspur. Barcelona controlled the tempo for the majority of the match, and it didn’t take long for the club to get out in front. Munir El Haddadi opened the scoring for the club in the 15th minute and Arthur doubled the lead in the 29th minute. It looked like Barca would cruise from there, but two Tottenham goals in the latter part of the second half forced penalties. Barcelona was able to go perfect from the spot in order to win the shootout though.
The club was not so fortunate against Roma on Tuesday. In a rematch of their epic Champions League Quarterfinals tie, Barcelona struck first when Rafinha scored in the sixth minute. Roma leveled shortly before the break, and then new signing Malcom scored his first goal for Barca in the 49th minute. Things were quiet for a bit afterwards, but then Roma opened the floodgates with three goals in the span of nine minutes to grab a 4-2 win.
Whereas Barcelona has played two high-scoring matches, Milan has played two low-scoring ones. Their first match against Manchester United saw the Red Devils get on the board first with an Alexis Sanchez goal in the 12th minute, but Milan followed suit with a Suso goal in the 15th minute. The match was scoreless after that and went to penalties, where United won after 13 rounds.
On Tuesday, AC Milan was unable to get on the scoresheet in a 1-0 loss to Tottenham. Milan was able to get more shots and shots on goal than their opponents, but they were unable to win the possession battle and that cost them.
AC Milan Player to Watch
Milan dealt center back Leonardo Bonucci back to Juventus in the deal for Higuain, and that will put the onus on Cristian Zapata this season. Zapata came on strong at the end of last year, even being named one of the team’s captains prior to a big match against Napoli. He sat out against Tottenham, but he might see some action here.
Barcelona Player to Watch
There is plenty of excitement over the potential of Malcom. The club is currently clearing the way for him to open the season in the starting eleven, and his goal in the last match will help endear him to supporters. He only joined the club last week, so seeing him on the field so quickly after his signing is a good sign and will help him create chemistry with his new teammates.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
It feels like Milan has been a little unlucky thus far, so I’m going to call for them to turn it around here. Milan can defend and frustrate teams with its play in the back line, and that will be the case against Barca.
International Champions Cup Odds: AC Milan 2, Barcelona 1
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