Xabi Alonso has a full-strength squad available when his Bayer Leverkusen team host Milan at the BayArena on Tuesday night. It’s Die Werkself’s first Champions League game at home since the 2022/23 season, and Alonso’s side are coming into this clash as German champions.
It’s quite possible that Alonso will name the same team that started against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga Topspiel on Saturday. That means a front three of Martin Terrier, Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface. Alonso will, of course, be hoping to see more of the ball than they did against the Rekordmeister and it will be up to Bayer’s front three to control the game.
Should Alonso want to field a more attacking lineup, expect to see Aleix Garcia to come in for Robert Andrich alongside Granit Xhaka in the double pivot but other than that, the team largely picks itself.
From the bench, Alonso has options such as Amine Adli, Nathan Tella and Patrik Schick, while Exequiel Palacios has also worked his way back from injury.
Predicted Bayer Leverkusen XI vs Milan
Lukas Hradecky – Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, Piero Hincapié – Jeremie Frimpong, Robert Andrich, Granit Xhaka, Alex Grimaldo – Martin Terrier, Florian Wirtz – Victor Boniface