MILAN – Lionel Messi is on the brink of yet another record as title holders and favourites Barcelona visit AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday with the odds firmly stacked against the injury-hit Serie A team.
UEFA Champions League
Quarterfinal 3: 1st Leg: Playing todayAC Milan vs Barcelona 20:00 SS3Marseille vs Bayern 20:30 SS5MILAN – Lionel Messi is on the brink of yet another record as title holders and favourites Barcelona visit AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday with the odds firmly stacked against the injury-hit Serie A team. Although titleholders Barcelona are unlikely to repeat the 7-1 aggregate win they pulled off in the first meeting of the two sides in the 1959-60 European Cup, they have looked unstoppable in the Champions League this season.Seven-times champions Milan, on the other hand, have been struggling with injuries in the run-up to the quarter-final first-leg tie, a repeat of the 1994 final which the Italians won 4-0.Pep Guardiola’s side have won seven and drawn one of their eight games, scoring 30 goals at an average of nearly four per match, and beat Milan 3-2 at the San Siro in the group stage.They have not lost in their last 14 Champions League games and are unbeaten in their last five against the Italians.Messi has scored 18 goals in his last eight Barcelona matches and a hat-trick for Argentina. His club tally included the first five-goal haul in the Champions League, against Bayer Leverkusen.He needs one more goal to break the Champions League season record of 12 goals, set by himself last season and Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2003, and also notch up his 50th goal of the competition.Last week, Messi broke the Barcelona scoring record with his 234th goal for the club and his tally of 55 goals this season in all competitions is already a Spanish record with two months still to play.The outlook became bleaker for Milan after Thiago Silva, the linchpin of their defence, joined Milan’s lengthy injured list, the Brazilian limping off early during the 2-1 win over AS Roma on Saturday.Right back Ignazio Abate and Brazilian forwards Robinho and Alexandre Pato are also sidelined while the Serie A leaders and defending champions will miss the intimidating presence of Mark Van Bommel in midfield as the Dutchman is suspended.