Between them, Real Madrid and AC Milan have 16 European titles, finishing second another seven times. In the 54-year history of the European Cup and Champions League, roughly two-fifths of the finals have featured one of these clubs. Milan’s presence has been slightly less frequent, having made eleven finals appearances (winning seven), but the next most prolific club would have to make four finals appearances before drawing even with Milan.

Crunch some numbers and you find that based on the frequency with which the two clubs appear in European finals, Real Madrid and AC Milan should have faced each other for the title two or three times.¹ They have met only once, 42 years ago in Heysel, the third time the European Cup had been contested.

Real Madrid had won the 1956 and 1957 titles, beating Stade Reims and Fiorentina. In 1958, they tried for their thrird-in-a-row against Milan at Heysel.

After a scoreless first half, Uruguay-born Juan Alberto Schiaffino put Milan up 1-0 in the 59th minute. The legendary Alfredo di Stefano evened the score fifteen minutes later but was almost immediately answered by another Argentinian-born midfielder, Ernesto Grillo. When Héctor Rial equalized for Real Madrid one minute later, the match would have its end of regulation score.

The contest went to extra time, where Paco Gento would score in the 107th minute to give Los Blancos their third consecutive cup. The team would win the next two European Cups, bringing their total to five. Only Milan (7) and Liverpool (5) have won as many as Madrid did to open the competition, and Madrid has since won four more.

Wednesday’s meeting at the Santiago Bernabéu will be the first time Madrid and Milan have met since the 2002-03 Champions League season. Then, they met in the second group stage, splitting their two contests: Real Madrid winning the second meeting (in Madrid) 3-1 after Milan had already wrapped-up the group.

Milan would go on to win the Champions League in 2003. This year, that result seems out of reach. If Milan were to post a 3-1 loss on Wednesday, it would merely meet expectations.

Gone is the hope we had after the group draw – a hope of two battles between traditional titans. With Real Madrid’s attack going at Milan’s defense, this may not be a battle.

Neither Arjen Robben nor Franck Ribery will play at Bordeaux.

Group A

Always reliable Group A will give us a good contest each match day thanks to a draw that put Bayern Munich, Bordeaux and Juventus together. This week, München does to Bordeaux, and if form holds, this will be a draw. Bordeaux drew at Juventus on Match Day 1, and then Juventus drew in Germany on Match Day 2. If that pattern continues, there will be a draw in Bordeaux and a Juventus wins, leaving the three teams tied at the top of the group with five points.

Bayern will be without Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Ivica Olic. The absences of Robben and Ribery particularly hurt against Bordeaux, whose favored diamond midfield would have trouble dealing with those two wide players. Laurent Blanc could also go with a five man midfield, an unnecessary step against a Bayern team that lacks a creative presence in the middle of the pitch. In addition, with both Mark van Bommel and Anatoliy Tymoschuk possible starters for Bayern, Bordeaux will need more than Marouane Chamakh up-front to attack Munich.

Bordeaux’s attacking options will be limited, as Yoan Gouffran is an injury doubt.

With Juventus likely to get three points hosting Maccabi Haifa, neither team can afford a loss. Else, they risk falling to third in the group one match after being joint-lead.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson always deprioritizes group stage road matches.

Group B

Manchester United will likely be without Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Patrice Evra, Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher. Nemanja Vidic and Dmitar Berbatov are also injury doubts, This list of injuries, confounded by Alex Ferguson’s tendency to starting a more conservative XI on the road in Champions League, is great news for CSKA.

CSKA will be without left wing Mark Gonzalez who, on the FieldTurf of Luzhniki Stadium, would have given John O’Shea a difficult time. Now Juande Ramos’s attack will likely go through Milos Krasic and Alan Dzagoev (who has two goals in two matches in Champions League). With an experienced defense, home rug advantage, and an opponent deferring to their injury bugs, the hosts look a good bet to spring what some will see as an upset.

If that happens, Wolfsburg can join United and CSKA at six points with a win over Besiktas. Armin Veh’s team has recovered from a lull at the end of September and look poised for their second Champions League victory. Besiktas will not be able to deal with the talented Wolfsburg attack.

Esteban Granero has been an astute, under-the-radar pick-up for Real Madrid.

Group C

Real Madrid will be without Cristiano Ronaldo and Guti, but all eyes will be on Kaka, who will make his first appearance against the club he found so difficult to leave. He will likely play with Esteban Granero in the second pair of Manuel Pellegrini’s 4-2-2-2. Raúl will start up-top with either Karim Benzema or Gonzalo Higuain.

Trying to stop them will be 36-year-old goaltender Dida, forced into duty because of injuries to Marco Storari and Christian Abbati. Milan will also be without Gennaro Gattuso, whose presence in front of the back would be helpful against a Madrid attack that has had trouble creating width.

For all the concerns Milan should have stopping Madrid’s attack, they should be equally inquisitive about their own ability to score goals. Milan has only six goals in eight Serie A matches, only two goals in Champions League. Madrid’s defense is a weakness, but it’s unclear Milan has the players to exploit it.

Should Milan fail in Spain, Zürich will be able to move into second place by themselves. Marseille is a talented team, but they are completely lost. They have fallen to fifth in Ligue 1 and are without a point in Champions League. If Zürich plays like they did in the competition’s first two rounds, Marseille will get no points today.

Radamel Falcao has quickly become Porto's biggest threat.

Group D

Chelsea hosts Atlético Madrid in what should be a tonic for their weekend lost to Aston Villa, but without the suspended Didier Drogba and the injured Michael Ballack, José Bosingwa and John Mikel Obi, the Blues’ depth will be tested. Against an Atlético team that has won only once in Spain and lost this weekend at Osasuna (3-0), the test should not be too difficult to pass.

In Cyprus, a APOEL team that held Chelsea to one goal will give Porto problems. Porto has had trouble scoring in Champions League, getting shut out in England before spending most of their match at the Dragão unable to break down Atlétcio. Eventually, they were good for two goals, but against a Cypriot team that has only allowed one goal in two matches, the Portuguese champions are upset fodder.

Richard Farley is a U.S.-based contributor to World Soccer Reader. He also hosts Inside the Six, the site’s regular podcast. He can be reached at richardfarley at gmail dot com and followed on Twitter, username “richardfarley.” And while you are at it, feel free to check out RF Football.

Notes
1 – 2.49 times to be exact, though I doubt I used the right precision.