AC Milan vs Barcelona Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

AC Milan play the last of their three scheduled International Champions Cup matches on Saturday, and with it being their last scheduled friendly before the start of the Serie A season later this month they will be hoping for a better result.

Last time out they put in a lacklustre performance against Tottenham to lose 1-0, and it’s a worrying sign of things to come for the AC Milan fans. For years they were always seen as the frontrunners for the Serie A title, but in recent times that threat has diminished and they’re showing very little sign of a resurgence yet.

The Italian giants shelled out a lot of money last season to bring the likes of Leonardo Bonucci, Andre Silva, Andrea Conti, and Hakan Calhanoglu in, among plenty of others. However, by the end of the season they were sitting in the same 6th place standing as they were a year prior, and this summer’s business hasn’t done much to inspire confidence.

The only transfer fees they have spent have been to bring Nikola Kalinic and Fabio Borini in on a permanent basis, with free transfers for Ivan Strinic, Pepe Reina, and Alen Halilovic also adding to their squad. Considering Inter Milan have bought Radja Nainggolan and Juventus have brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, these moves aren’t exactly making waves among the AC Milan fans.

Barcelona’s transfer movements have also been a bit of a dispute in Catalonia, with their controversial signing of Malcom being seen as an odd move and their lack of big name signings being a slight worry for the fans. However, unlike their opponents, Barcelona have a supremely talented squad to call upon.

Even without their big names such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele, Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, and Gerard Pique, all of whom are still on a break after the World Cup, they have talent in bucket loads. Malcom scored on his debut against Roma on Wednesday, and fellow Brazilian Arthur did exactly the same against Spurs last weekend.

The results haven’t all gone their way this summer though, with a 4-2 loss to Roma highlighting their lack of depth in defence and a 2-2 draw against Spurs doing exactly the same. Going forward they have been almost faultless though, scoring two goals in each of their games so far. They should have enough to get past the AC  Milan defence too.

Looking back into last season, Barcelona have scored at least two goals in ten of their last eleven matches, so backing Barcelona Over 1.5 Team Goals along with a 2-1 win for the La Liga champions looks a solid bet here.