Tottenham turn attentions to other Milan giant

After waiting 38 years to get back to San Siro, Tottenham Hotspur FC return there for the second time in just four months to take on AC Milan in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie.

• Harry Redknapp's side got the better of Milan's city rivals, FC Internazionale Milano, in the group stage. Tottenham finished a point clear of Inter at the Group A summit thanks, in part, to a 3-1 home success against the Nerazzurri.

• Tottenham can also take heart from an impressive second-half showing when losing 4-3 to Inter at San Siro on 20 October. Gareth Bale hit a second-half hat-trick after his team, down to ten men, had trailed 4-0.

• Massimiliano Allegri's Milan qualified second in Group G behind Real Madrid CF and their goal now is to avoid a third round of 16 elimination by English opposition in four seasons after defeats by Manchester United FC last term and Arsenal FC in 2008. The Rossoneri have not been beyond this stage since their last European triumph in 2007.

Previous meetings
• Tottenham prevailed in the clubs' one previous two-legged encounter in the 1971/72 UEFA Cup semi-final. They won the first leg in north London 2-1 as Steve Perryman's double overturned Romeo Benetti's opener before a 1-1 draw in Milan, Alan Mullery's goal taking Spurs through despite Gianni Rivera's penalty equaliser. Keeping goal for Milan was Fabio Cudicini, father of Tottenham's reserve custodian Carlo.

Match background
• Seven-time winners Milan may have a greater pedigree in Europe's elite competition than a Tottenham side competing for only the second time, but the London club had the more impressive group stage statistics.

• Tottenham are the competition's joint-leading scorers after hitting 18 goals in Group A, including eight on their travels. Milan, by contrast, qualified with fewer points than any other team (eight) and were the joint lowest scorers (seven). At home they recorded one win, one draw and one defeat.

• Since overcoming Liverpool FC in the 2007 UEFA Champions League final, Milan have failed to win in five meetings with English teams. After a 2-0 aggregate loss to Arsenal in 2007/08, they drew at Portsmouth FC in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage before a 7-2 aggregate defeat by United 12 months ago.

• Prior to their home reverses against Arsenal (0-2, 2007/08) and United (2-3, 2009/10), Milan had not lost to visitors from England; their record now reads W7 D4 L2.

• Besides facing Milan and Inter, Spurs' only other encounter with Serie A opposition was a 2-0 loss at Udinese Calcio in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Milan lost the 2005 UEFA Champions League final to Liverpool on penalties but gained revenge with victory in a 2007 final in which Peter Crouch featured as a 78th-minute substitute for the English side.

Team ties
• Kevin-Prince Boateng joined Tottenham from Hertha BSC Berlin in July 2007 and made 14 league appearances before moving to Portsmouth in 2009. He scored a penalty in Portsmouth's 2-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat of Tottenham last April.

• Mathieu Flamini spent four seasons with Spurs' arch-rivals Arsenal and played in five north London derbies, winning two and drawing three.

• Robinho was at Manchester City FC from September 2008 to January 2010. He faced Tottenham twice and lost both times, a 2-1 home reverse in November 2008 in which he scored, and a 3-0 away loss in December 2009.

• Carlo Cudicini was born in Milan and came through the Rossoneri's youth system. He made two UEFA Champions League appearances in 1992/93 but never appeared in Serie A.

• William Gallas captained the Arsenal side that beat Milan in 2007/08.

• Heurelho Gomes was in the PSV Eindhoven team defeated on away goals by Milan in the 2004/05 semi-finals.

• Tottenham's January signing Steven Pienaar was in the AFC Ajax team that lost 3-2 on aggregate to Milan in the 2002/03 quarter-finals, scoring in the 3-2 second-leg defeat at San Siro. He also played in Ajax's 1-0 group-stage defeat in Milan the following season.

• Rafael van der Vaart played in the Netherlands side that were 4-1 winners against Zlatan Ibrahimović's Sweden in a UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in October.