The pubs in Newcastle will be absolutely heaving on Tuesday afternoon (17:45), as the Magpies finally get their Champions League adventure underway in Milan. We’ve picked out a 18/1 bet-builder for the occasion… 

AC Milan to win

The Rossoneri suffered a cataclysmic and frankly embarrassing derby day spanking courtesy of San Siro stadium partners Inter on Saturday and will be desperate to respond here.

That 5-1 shellacking will have really hurt Stefano Pioli, and he will no doubt make several changes to the side that was responsible for that loss. Prior to the defeat, Milan had won their previous three games, so they are far from a team in total disarray.

Newcastle, meanwhile, looked decidedly dodgy themselves, relying on a dubious penalty decision to beat a Brentford side that had the majority of play in the game.

Eddie Howe will be impressed by how his side was able to grind out a result when underperforming, but three straight losses before the Bees game certainly points to problems up on Tyneside.

I expect this game to be close, but I think the Italian side have just enough guile and experience in this competition to nick this one.

Both Teams to Score

As already mentioned, I think this will be a really tight game and expect both sides to get on the scoresheet.

United have scored in four out of five games this season and have only kept the one clean sheet.

AC have also seen BTTS hit in three of their four Serie A games thus far.

Olivier Giroud to score

The 36-year-old continues to relish his time in Milan and has started the 23/24 season like a house on fire, with four goals in four games.

Giroud enjoys this competition, netting five times in the Champions League last season, and I think he can bag again on Tuesday evening.

Anthony Gordon to be carded

The former Everton man has won several plaudits this year, due to the improvement in his all round game.

He does, however, still possess a hot head at times, as reflected in his four Premier League yellows this term.

In a pressure cooker atmosphere such as the San Siro, Gordon could struggle to keep his cool and don’t be shocked to see him pick up another caution.