Real Madrid and AC Milan will continue their preparations for the new season with an International Champions Cup match on Thursday in Shanghai.
Real Madrid beat AC Milan's rivals Inter Milan 3-0 on Monday - two days after AC Milan had opened this leg of their tour with a 1-0 victory over Roberto Mancini's side.
Real Madrid
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Rafael Benitez's task at Real Madrid this season is quite simple, but extremely complicated at the same time. Wresting the La Liga title back from Barcelona is of the utmost importance, but beating Luis Enrique's side to the crown in the new campaign is not exactly the easiest of assignments.
Benitez's reign has got off to a positive start, however, with Los Blancos winning two and drawing one (losing on penalties) of their three pre-season matches thus far. They opened with a 0-0 draw against Roma, before eventually losing to the Italian runners-up on penalties.
If the Roma clash was a little underwhelming, the next two were anything but. Manchester City were dispatched 4-1 in Australia, before Inter were on the end of a 3-0 defeat on Monday. Defensive improvement is needed this season, but Real Madrid have such a wealth of talent in the final third that they are once again going to be difficult to stop in the new season.
The ongoing Sergio Ramos and David de Gea sagas have not actually impacted on the team's performances, while talk of a falling-out between Cristiano Ronaldo and Benitez was quickly put to bed. Real Madrid are always going to be under the microscope, but they look a team ready to challenge both at home and abroad in the new campaign.
Looking forward, Real Madrid will face Tottenham Hotspur in the Audi Cup on August 8, before playing either a third-place play-off or indeed final on the Sunday. Their pre-season will then come to an end against Valerenga on August 9.
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AC Milan
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For a team of such prestige and standing in the European game, Milan have actually only won the Serie A title once since the 2003-04 season. That success occurred in 2011, but since then, it has been a disappointing few seasons for the Italian giants.
Finishing eighth in the 2013-14 season was seen as an absolute disaster, but it got worse last term, when they eventually finished down in 10th. Rivals Inter are also struggling at the moment and there is no question that the two Milan giants are some way off the dominant Juventus as things stand.
The new season will bring new opportunities, however, and it is up to Sinisa Mihajlovic, who replaced Filippo Inzaghi at the helm last month, to revitalise the club as a whole. They have fallen some way off the level of Real Madrid over the last few years, but this will be a valuable test to determine whether they can close the gap on Europe's elite.
Pre-season has been fairly successful for Milan thus far – recording three wins from their four matches. They opened with back-to-back 5-1 wins over Alcione and Legnano, but were then beaten 2-1 by French runners-up Lyon.
Milan's first 2015 International Champions Cup match was against Inter last weekend and a stunning goal from Philippe Mexes secured a 1-0 victory over the old enemy. Milan will also compete in the Audi Cup in Germany early next month and therefore have at least two more pre-season matches to come before the start of the Serie A season.
Incidentally, the draw for the new Serie A campaign has only just taken place and Milan will start the new season with a difficult trip to Fiorentina. Last season's exploits will want to be forgotten as soon as possible and the investment that has occurred this summer is a strong suggestion that the club are prepared to spend to return to former glories.
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Team News
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Following Monday's clash against Inter, Benitez hinted that he would make a whole host of changes for the fixture with Milan. Among those coming into the team should be goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, who recently joined the Spanish giants from Espanyol.
Lucas Silva, Casemiro and Denis Cheryshev are all pushing for starts, while Alvaro Arbeloa could start ahead of Marcelo at left-back.
Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are both expected to keep their spots, however, as Benitez looks to build a partnership between the two attackers.
As for Milan, summer signings Luiz Adriano and Carlos Bacca should both start.
Mexes could also return to the team at centre-back following his winner against Inter last time out, but there will be no Antonio Nocerino following his red card against Mancini's side.
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Casilla; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Arbeloa; Silva, Modric, Casemiro; Cheryshev, Ronaldo, Bale
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Lopez; De Sciglio, Mexes, Alex, Calabria; De Jong, Poli, Honda; Bacca, Niang, Adriano
Head To Head
In terms of the recent meetings between the two teams, Real Madrid have won two of the last five matches, with Milan winning once and the further fixture ending level.
Their last match was also a friendly and took place just last December, with Milan winning the mid-season clash in Dubai 4-2 after Real Madrid had claimed the Club World Cup.
Their last competitive meeting was a Champions League group-stage match in November 2010, when Filippo Inzaghi scored twice in a 2-2 draw at San Siro.
We say: Real Madrid 2-1 AC Milan
Real Madrid have been really impressive in their last two pre-season matches and will be confident of recording a third straight victory. Milan's squad is looking a lot stronger than last season, however, and the Italians will be keen to put down a marker.
We think it will be a tight match for long spells, but can see Real Madrid's quality ultimately shining through and being enough to claim a narrow win.
Matt Law
