UEFA Champions League, Tottenham Hotspur Vs. AC Milan: Live Match Thread, Leg 1

Welcome to your live game thread for the UEFA Champions League tie between Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan, leg 1. Satanic Crouch greets you! I feel like we need Bruce Buffer to announce this game thread.

"And now...iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiIT'S TIIIIIIIIIIME!!! 90 minutes in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. Introducing first, FIGHTING out of the blue corner! This team has a professional Champions League record of three wins, two draws, one loss. Fighting out of North London, England, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR!"

Okay, enough with the shenanigans. This is going to be a really tough game, but AC Milan's lineup makes it look manageable. They're without a lot of players through injury and cup-tied status, and as a result, they have moved defender Thiago Silva into a midfield destroyer role. They're playing their 4-4-2 diamond setup, with Alexandre Pato getting left on the bench.

Harry Redknapp has provided us with no surprises for Spurs, starting Rafael van der Vaart behind Peter Crouch and a midfield pairing of Wilson Palacios and Sandro. The matchup of Palacios-Sandro vs. Gattuso-Flamini might be the least creative central midfield battle in the history of the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. Here are your lineups.

AC Milan lineup (4-4-2 Narrow Diamond): Abbiati; Yepes, Nesta, Antonini, Abate; Silva, Gattuso, Flamini, Seedorf; Ibrahimovic, Robinho

Tottenham Hotspur lineup (4-4-1-1): Gomes; Assou-Ekotto, Dawson, Gallas, Corluka; Pienaar, Sandro, Palacios, Lennon; van der Vaart; Crouch

Kickoff is at 2:45 pm ET on Fox Soccer Channel in the United States. Commence drinking, Yids.