If there was any doubt that Bayer Leverkusen are a one-year wander (like Brest, Bologna or Girona), they proved them wrong since the start of the season. Apart from the unexpected defeat from Leipzig (their first in Bundesliga in over a year), Bayer looks as dominant as the last season, when they had only one defeat in all competitions (Atalanta in Europa League final) and expect AC Milan in great confidence. Apart from their offensive weaponry, they put a defensive show during the weekend, when they contained a high-offensive Bayern team in and earned a draw in Munich (1-1). But Rossonersi are not naïve either. After a terrible start in Italy, they finally woken up when it mattered most – against city rivals Inter, where they not only won, but where better throughout the game against current Serie A champions.After a clear 3-0 victory by Atalanta in Europa League finals, Bayern now must focus on this game in order to prove that the match was a blip and not a situation in which the Italian clubs are better than German‘s. And they will have a few trump cards up their sleeves. Florian Wirtz was good last year (Bundesliga player of the season), but he exploded in this one. In seven appearances this season he managed six goals and an assist. Milan have already conceded 10 goals in six games this season and may not have faced anything quite like Wirtz. And if they manage to somehow contain Wirtz or the powerful Nigerian striker Victor Boniface, then comes the dangerous duo for which the Germans have nickname already – Grimpong.Boniface admits he doesn’t fancy the Premier LeagueAlejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong are frightening full back duo and key players in this Leverkusen team, as they scored an incredible 39 Bundesliga goals and assists between them – Spain’s Grimaldo and the Netherlands’ Frimpong are triple threats, taking and making goals while also helping keep it tight at the back. It is interesting to know, but Leverkusen and Milan have never played each other before in a competitive match. Their only meeting was in a 1999 pre-season friendly which the Italians won 3-2.Milan top Serie A with a third win in a rowBefore the game, Milan coach Paulo Fonseca admitted he wasn‘t so happy with Xabi Alonso‘s comments about his team, as the Spaniard emphasized the defensive part of their game.“Today I read what Xabi Alonso said. When we speak about Italian teams, we always say the same thing, that Italian sides are good at defending and playing on the counter-attack. I would like different things to be discussed when we talk about Milan, we have to work because we don’t want to be considered like that” Fonseca said during his press conference. The Portuguese coach will be without the injured Marco Sportiello, Alessandro Florenzi and Ismael Bennacer, while Luka Jovic is not part of their Champions League squad. Davide Calabria and Noah Okafor travelled with the group to Germany. The Italian defender challenges Emerson Royal for a starting spot at right-back, but the Brazilian remains the favorite. Morata is not fully fit, so he’ll likely be replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, changing the Milan system to 4-2-3-1 with Youssouf Fofana and Tijjani Reijnders in the middle of the park. Xavi is lucky as he has a full squad of healthy players, which means that Victor Boniface will lead the attack, with Florian Wirtz and Martin Terrier behind the Nigeria international.
