Bayern Munich vs. AC Milan: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
AC Milan have never missed an edition of the Audi Cup, and this year is no exception. The Rossoneri have never made it to the final of the competition and have a tall order to do so on Tuesday, as they face German titans Bayern Munich.
Date: Tuesday, August 4
Time: 8:45 p.m. local time, 7:45 p.m. BST, 2:45 p.m. EDT
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Venue: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
TV Info: Premier Sports (UK), ESPN2 (U.S.)
Live Stream: Premier Player HD (UK), ESPN Player (U.S.)
Milan acquitted itself well in the recent International Champions Cup. In a preseason version of the Derby della Madonnina, the Rossoneri claimed a 1-0 victory over Internazionale thanks to an acrobatic volley by Philippe Mexes. They faced Real Madrid a week later and dueled them to a goalless draw.
The tournament-mandated shootout that followed turned into a marathon before Real finally claimed a 10-9 victory when young goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma couldn't come through against his opposite number.
The biggest thing to take the away from those two games is that neither opponent managed to score. Defense has been Milan's biggest weakness the last few years. To hold back-to-back opponents to clean sheets, even in preseason, is a major step.
It's particularly impressive they did so against Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale stayed in the game for 70 minutes, and they were replaced by the likes of James Rodriguez. To keep such a power-packed lineup out both before and after the mass substitutions characteristic of preseason games should be looked on as an accomplishment for a team that has for so long been beleaguered in the back.
Bayern have had a mixed preseason. They've scored victories against Valencia and Inter, but lost to Chinese giants Guangzhou Evergrande on penalties after a scoreless draw and dropped both their abbreviated matches in the Telekom Cup, losing to Augsburg in the semifinals and to Borussia Monchengladbach on penalties in the third-place game.
They also lost their first competitive match of the year, the DFL-Supercup, falling to Wolfsburg on penalties.
A deciding factor in the game may be the fact that because the Bundesliga starts play earlier than Serie A, Bayern will be further along in their preseason preparations and much closer to full match fitness. That difference tends to be palpable when Italian clubs play foreign counterparts in preseason and can distort how the game looks to outside observers.
Form Lines
| Bayern Munich | AC Milan |
| D 1-1 vs. Wolfsburg* | D 0-0 vs. Real Madrid* |
| D 0-0 @ Guangzhou Evergrande** | W 1-0 vs. Inter |
| W 1-0 vs. Inter | L 2-1 @ Lyon |
| W 4-1 vs. Valencia | W 5-1 vs. Legnano |
| W 2-0 vs. Mainz*** | W 5-1 vs. Alcione |
Bayern Notes
*DFL-Supercup, lost penalty shootout
**Preseason friendly, lost penalty shootout
***2014-15 Bundesliga
Telekom Cup not counted because of altered rules of the competition.
Milan Notes
*International Champions Cup, lost penalty shootout
Projected Formations
| Bayern Munich | AC Milan |
| Neuer | Lopez |
| Lahm Boateng Benatia Alaba | Antonelli Ely Alex Abate |
| Thiago Alonso | Bertolacci De Jong Poli |
| Robben Costa Vidal | Honda |
| Lewandowski | Niang Bacca |
Players to Watch
Milan has struggled in defense the last few years, and they've taken a chance on 21-year-old Brazilian Rodrigo Ely to help.
Ely came up in the youth system of Gremio and was bought by Milan in 2012. He's played extensively on loan for lower-level teams such as Reggina, Varese and Avellino since, and this year, Milan's brass has decided he's ready for the big time.
He's made a good impression so far in preseason. His partnership with fellow Brazilian Alex has worked quite well. Alex can contain pretty much anything so long as it stays in front of him, and the younger Ely has compensated for his lack of pace and can chase anything that gets behind him.
Bayern's high-powered attack will be a significant test of the youngster's mettle. He acquitted himself well against Real Madrid, and if he does the same here, it could really send a message that he can be a difference-maker for Milan.
Tuesday will mark the second Bayern game for summer signing Arturo Vidal.
It took a while for the Chile international's transfer to officially go through, but he's finally at the club that nearly signed him four years ago. He'll be expected to replace the departed Bastian Schweinsteiger, who left this summer for Manchester United.
At his best, Vidal might be the most complete player in the world today. He can pass, defend and score goals, all on an elite level. Last year, he certainly wasn't at his best. He rushed back from an injury suffered in March 2014 in order to participate at the World Cup. That affected his play in the early part of 2014-15.
The real Vidal came in fits and starts, but it wasn't until after the winter break that he started looking healthy on a regular basis. The change in formation from 3-5-2 to 4-3-1-2 also saw him shoehorned into the trequartista position. His true position is as a box-to-box midfielder, and the switch robbed him of some of the best attributes of his game.
It will be interesting to see how he is incorporated into Pep Guardiola's system, and this game will show us how that process is going.
Key Matchup
As said before, Alex's weakness is his pace. If a ball gets behind him, he has difficulty recovering.
Fortunately, the center forward he is likely to be marking in this game is Robert Lewandowski. Pace isn't the Polish striker's forte. He's more of a direct striker. He's not the kind of guy who's going to be able to dribble around the defender and force him to recover. If he gets behind the defense, it's because a pass sent him there.
It's going to be Alex's job to keep Lewandowski in front of him, both in possession and off the ball. If he gets around him, Diego Lopez is going to have a job to do. If Alex keeps him in front of him, his teammates will have to do the scoring.
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