Zlatan Ibrahimovic of AC Milan during the UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg match between AC Milan and Barcelona at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milan, Italy. They meet again on April 3, 2012. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
AC Milan will go through to the UEFA Champions League semifinals with any scoring draw against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
If a team can't win at home against any opponent, they won't be expected to win on the road. This is the case even more so when the opponent in question is Barcelona, and the road trip in question is one to the Camp Nou. It's hard to imagine Barcelona not being able to win at home against just about anyone, but AC Milan technically have an advantage. Barcelona have zero away goals, and they can't add to that tally. If the same result -- a draw -- happens at Camp Nou, either the game is going to extra time or Milan are going through.
The Rossoneri technically have an advantage. It could quickly evaporate if Barcelona plays to the best of their abilities, but Barcelona's lack of an away goal gives them an excellent chance to pull off an upset. The two teams drew last week and in their last match at Camp Nou in September, so it's not exactly far-fetched.
Milan still have a couple of key defensive absences that will carry over into Tuesday's game. Central defender Thiago Silva and defensive midfielder Mark van Bommel are unavailable through injury. The team does get one major boost in defense, however. Ignazio Abate should start at right back for Milan. Striker Alexandre Pato and midfielder Alberto Aquilani have also returned from injury, and look likely to make the 18-man squad. Antonio Nocerino and Cristian Abbiati picked up knocks at the weekend but are expected to start.
Barcelona have considerably more question marks. Adriano, Cesc Fabregas, Ibrahim Afellay and Xavi have recently returned to full training after injuries, but the availability of all of them is questionable. Carles Puyol has performed well at left back recently and could keep Adriano out of the team. If Fabregas starts, he's likely to replace Seydou Keita, which will move Andres Iniesta back to the midfield. If Xavi is not 90 minutes fit, Thiago Alcantara is likely to start in his place.
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, April 3, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
TV: FOX Soccer Channel (USA), Sportsnet World (Canada), Sky Sports 1 (UK)
We'll have live coverage of the game in our UEFA Champions League Tuesday StoryStream. For more on the two teams, head over to Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes and The AC Milan Offside.


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