AC Milan's Christian Pulisic: A Threat to Real Madrid's Struggling Defense

Two teams teetering on the edge of their baseline expectations for the season meet searching for a morale-boosting Champions League win as Real Madrid host AC Milan at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.

Both sides have struggled at home and abroad so far this season relative to where they believe a club of their stature should reside. Real Madrid suffered a damaging El Clasico defeat to La Liga leaders Barcelona there last time out, but have had a chance to recover after their match this past weekend was postponed due to flooding in Spain.

AC Milan, meanwhile, struggled to scrape together a 1-0 victory over Monza on the weekend in Serie A action, and are sitting below the cut line in the Champions League table with just one win in their three matches so far.

The Italian side has leaned heavily on American star Christian Pulisic who remains in good form, having scored in seven of the club's 14 league and European matches thus far.

Ancelotti's Search for Stability Continues

There's decent value on AC Milan here given the cavernous gulf in moneyline odds in this match skewed towards a struggling Real Madrid, but it's simply hard to trust the sputtering Italian side here.

Carlo Ancelotti is still sorting out his best way forward to integrate Kylian Mbappe up front and get his shaky defense back on track, but there's nothing to indicate that AC Milan can get a big result on the road at the Bernabeu even with Madrid in poor form of their own.

Pulisic Poses a Threat to Real Madrid's Defense

In truth, there's little benefit to backing Real Madrid at such deflated value. There are better plays for this match, which we'll get to below.

Nobody on the Bernabeu pitch is in better form currently than Christian Pulisic, and yet the betting market has shown him absolutely no respect whatsoever. This is delicious value for a player who has scored or assisted a goal in nearly three-quarters of his team's matches to date, with 10 goal contributions spread across 13 games.

Pulisic has significant history in matches against Real Madrid, scoring once and assisting twice in eight games against the Spanish giants, including goal contributions in both legs of the 2021 semifinal to lift Chelsea towards an eventual European title.

Real Madrid's Recent Struggles Highlight the Importance of the Match

Real Madrid will probably come away with a win in this match, but their hallmark this season has been chaos. Even in victory, it hasn't exactly been pretty for Los Blancos of late.

In each of their last three wins, they have either come from behind (against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, down 2-0 at the half), coughed up a lead (Celta Vigo grabbed a 51st-minute equalizer before Vinicius Jr. won it for Madrid in the final half-hour), or given up an early chance to the opponent (Villarreal missed a 17th-minute chance in Madrid's 2-0 win).

While Milan struggle to create many chances, they have been clinical with the ones they do put together. They have a positive xGOT-xG differential in Serie A play, and they have four goals on just 2.83 xG through their three Champions League matches thus far.

A Crucial Match for Both Teams' Aspirations

The match at the Bernabeu on Tuesday will be a crucial test for both teams' ambitions for the season. Real Madrid, despite their recent struggles, will be looking to reclaim their dominant form and make a statement in the Champions League. Meanwhile, AC Milan will be looking to upset their opponents and prove that they are still a force to be reckoned with in Europe.

Only time will tell which team will come out on top in this clash of European giants, but one thing is certain: the match will be a highly anticipated and competitive affair, with both sides eager to secure a vital victory.