I don't think it will be 3-3 like the last time these teams met - when Liverpool won on penalties. I expect a slightly attritional game. Liverpool don't want an open game and will not allow it because they don't play that way and Milan can be the same. I don't envisage many goals, if any, and I certainly see it going to extra time, maybe penalties.
There is one key battle, which is in midfield.
When AC Milan beat Manchester United in the second leg of their semi-final, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs did not influence the game but the thing is they never had the ball.
I thought the four Milan midfielders and Kaka - because of where he was situated - did a fantastic job of winning possession and having far more of the ball than Manchester United, especially in the danger areas. If Liverpool are going to win the competition that is where they need to be at their most competitive and keen.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez might spring a surprise with his team selection. He has done it quite a few times. We had Harry Kewell starting a couple of years back and he threw Boudewijn Zenden in against Chelsea in the semi-final.
I was at Liverpool's last game against Charlton and Kewell looked fit and fresh so that's a possibility. One thing about Benitez is that you can rarely guess his team for these really big games. You can get eight or nine but it is very rare you can guess his 11. He is not rigid.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez might go with striker Dirk Kuyt up front on his own and Steven Gerrard in a free role. If Milan play Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta you might want Craig Bellamy in for his pace but I don't think he trusts him. And I can't see him playing Kuyt and Peter Crouch together. He might play one striker and have the insurance of Gerrard in a floating position. He can be a bit like the really good boy in the school playground who goes wherever the ball is, which might not be a bad thing.
AC Milan play either Alberto Gilardino or Fillipo Inzahghi up front but they are sacrificial lambs. They don't play anything up to them, everything goes through the midfield - the real core element of the team. The midfield is so strong and the balance is fantastic. Massimo Ambrosino and Gennaro Gattuso are good at getting the ball back and they protect Andrea Pirlo, who is a bit like the quarterback. For five years I wondered what Clarence Seedorf did but he was great against Manchester United, up and down all the time.
When Milan played Manchester United the plan was to surround Cristiano Ronaldo when he got the ball, stop him playing or, even better, not let him get the ball.
If they have the same idea for Steven Gerrard you might want to let him roam if you are Liverpool. If you play Gerrard on the right he will have Kakha Kaladze and Clarence Seedorf to face. In a way, it will be like Kaka but coming from deeper and having licence and freedom to roam.
For Milan it is all about when Kaka wants the ball, where he wants it and how you get it to him.
from news.bbc.co.uk
A Mark Lawrenson column
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