San Siro test awaits new boys Málaga

Málaga CF make their first trip to Italy on matchday four when they take on Group C rivals AC Milan at San Siro.

• Málaga's remarkable UEFA Champions League debut continued to get better as a second-half goal from Joaquín – who had missed a penalty in the first period – proved decisive against Milan in the third round of matches.

• That followed 3-0 wins against both FC Zenit St Petersburg and RSC Anderlecht and gave Málaga a five-point cushion over their second-placed Italian opponents in the section.

Match background
• Both sides have reason to believe they can stifle their opponents. Milan's goalless draw with Anderlecht on matchday one was their fifth clean sheet in their last six home fixtures in the UEFA Champions League. The only side to blemish that sequence were FC Barcelona, 3-2 winners at San Siro in last season's group stage.

• Málaga, meanwhile, are yet to concede in five UEFA Champions League matches, having also overcome Panathinaikos FC 2-0 on aggregate in the play-offs.

• In their brief European history Málaga have already compiled a strong away record, winning six and losing just one of ten fixtures, their campaigns in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup and 2002/03 UEFA Cup included. Moreover, they have conceded just four goals. They have kept eight clean sheets in their last nine European fixtures, home and away.

• Massimiliano Allegri's Milan lost 3-1 on aggregate to Barcelona in last season's quarter-finals and, including their 0-0 first-leg draw with the Blaugrana, have failed to win any of their last five encounters with Spanish opposition at San Siro.

• The Rossoneri's last home success against a Liga side was a 1-0 group stage defeat of Barcelona in October 2004. Their record against visitors from Spain, including a 1-0 victory over Barcelona in the second leg of the 1989 UEFA Super Cup, is W11 D5 L6.

Team ties
• Manuel Pellegrini's Real Madrid CF side lost 3-2 against Milan at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2009/10, Pato scoring twice – including the 88th-minute winner – but then earned a 1-1 draw in Milan and ended up top of the group with the Serie A side second.

• During his semi-final run with debutants Villarreal CF in 2005/06, Pellegrini got the better of FC Internazionale Milano in the quarter-finals, ousting them on away goals after a 2-1 away loss and 1-0 home victory.

• Pellegrini's Villarreal also earned 1-1 UEFA Cup group stage draws at S.S. Lazio in 2004/05 and at ACF Fiorentina in 2007/08.

• Oguchi Onyewu was on Milan's books between 2009 and 2011 but made only one competitive appearance, as a substitute in a UEFA Champions League home defeat by FC Zürich in September 2009.

• Riccardo Montolivo found the net in Italy's 2-1 friendly win over Spain in August 2011. Along with Ignazio Abate he was in the side beaten 4-0 by Spain in the UEFA EURO 2012 final.

• Bojan Krkić won all five games in which he faced Málaga with Barcelona. His only goal came in a 3-1 win at La Rosaleda in May 2011, his final outing for Barcelona. Like Bojan, Carmona began his career with the Catalan club.

• Robinho scored for Madrid in a 2-0 Liga win at Malaga in December 2005. He played with Javier Saviola and Brazil colleague Júlio Baptista during his time at Madrid.

• Roque Santa Cruz and Nigel de Jong were together at Manchester City FC between 2009 and 2011.

• Martín Demichelis played in Bayern's 2010 UEFA Champions League final loss against Inter.

• Mario Yepes was a team-mate of Demichelis and Saviola at CA River Plate. After leaving for FC Nantes in 2002, Yepes played alongside Jérémy Toulalan.

• Cristián Zapata (Villarreal) and Christian Abbiati (Club Atlético de Madrid) have played in the Spanish Liga.

• Eliseu made two substitute appearances in Serie A for Lazio in 2009/10.