Bayer Leverkusen vs AC Milan Prediction: All eyes on Wirtz and Leverkusen

After contrasting results in their opening Champions League encounters, Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan will battle it out at the BayArena on Tuesday evening (20:00, live on TNT Sports 5) in what is expected to be a thrilling contest.

Leverkusen were comfortable 4-0 winners against Feyenoord on matchday one, while Milan were put to the sword by Liverpool, despite taking an early lead. Read on for my Bayer Leverkusen vs AC Milan prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Leverkusen made five changes for the clash with Bayern Munich at the weekend, but Tuesday's match-up with Milan should feature several of the same players.

Granit Xhaka will anchor the midfield, alongside one of Robert Andrich, Aleix Garcia or Exequiel Palacios, while Patrik Schick could return to the fold after being named an unused substitute in the aforementioned encounter with Bayern.

As for the visitors, Marco Sportiello, Ismael Bennacer and Alessandro Florenzi are all sidelined by injury, while captain Davide Calabria is struggling with a muscular problem.

Bayer Leverkusen vs AC Milan Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Bayer Leverkusen vs AC Milan page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Xabi Alonso's side are favourites for the game at 7/10, giving them an implied win probability of 58.8%, the draw is 3/1 and the visitors are 7/2 to get their first win of the new Champions League campaign.

Victor Boniface leads the anytime goalscorer market for the hosts at 13/10, followed by Schick at 7/5 and Martin Terrier at 21/10. Alvaro Morata is favourite to net anytime for Milan at 12/5, while Christian Pulisic - who has four goals in each of his last four matches - is available at 16/5.

Bayer Leverkusen to win and both teams to score - yes @ 15/8

Bayer Leverkusen’s long unbeaten record may have been brought to an end earlier this season by RB Leipzig, but they have since bounced back and have now only lost one of their last 61 games across all competitions.

Alonso's side have proven themselves to be hard to beat, but their games usually deliver goals and entertainment, too.

The hosts have scored in all of their eight matches to date this term, but have only kept two clean sheets over the same period, and six of Leverkusen’s eight matches in 2023/24 have also featured at least four goals, suggesting there could be more goalmouth action on Tuesday.

Milan do boast an attacking threat, scoring after just three minutes in the defeat to Liverpool and have won their two games in Serie A since then, while they have only lost three of their last 10 away fixtures in this competition. Leverkusen are an imperious outfit at home, but the Italian giants can get on the scoresheet, in my opinion.

Florian Wirtz to score anytime @ 21/10

Florian Wirtz has seemingly picked up where he left off from last season, as he's scored six goals across all competitions already for the hosts.

The German midfielder has been directly involved in 24 goals in his last 26 European starts - including a brace on matchday one against Feyenoord - and had scored four times in three games before firing a blank in Bavaria at the weekend, so he's worth a punt to score anytime on Tuesday.

Tuesday-Wednesday (01-02/10): Place 3x In-Play bets on 3 separate Champions League or Championship matches across Tuesday & Wednesday (odds 1/2+), and we'll give you a Free Bet to your average stake up to £10 to use on the Europa League or Europa Conference League on Thursday. (Credited within 24hrs).

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.