The league phase of this season’s UEFA Europa League kicks off this week, with Italian giants AC Milan taking on Portuguese heavyweights Benfica in an intriguing match at the San Siro on Wednesday. Milan did not take part in any European football last season, and they missed out on UEFA Champions League qualification by one point at the end of last term.
AC Milan have a tough assignment against their Portuguese rivals in this opening game, but they will feel confident that they can begin on a positive note at home.
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The Rossoneri are sixth in the Italian Serie A standings with eight points from four matches. They beat Torino 2-1 away and Venezia 2-0 at home before consecutive away draws against rivals Juventus (1-1) and Lazio (2-2).
Ruben Amorim’s side are unbeaten so far this season, but they came close to being beaten against Lazio on Saturday.
The capital club raced to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Matteo Cancellieri and Tijjani Noslin. However, the introduction of new Milan signing Diego Moreira proved an inspired choice, as the Belgian international winger produced two moments of magic to score his first couple of goals for the Rossoneri, earning Milan a point.
After this week’s Europa League game against Benfica, Milan will face Ferencváros, Sunderland, and Ararat-Armenia at the San Siro, while they will take on Olympiacos, Salzburg, Bournemouth, and Levski Sofia away from home in the league phase.
Meanwhile, Benfica are also unbeaten in the Portuguese top flight this season, securing five victories and a draw from their six Primeira Liga games to sit second in the standings on 16 points, two behind flawless leaders Porto FC with 18 points.
As Águias have beaten the likes of Casa Pia (7-0), Estoril (2-1), Maritimo (3-0), Moreirense (4-0), and Gil Vicente (3-1), dominating and showing their ability to be clinical in attack, with a goal difference of +17 after six matches.
Benfica’s 3-1 home win over Gil Vicente at the Estadio da Luz on Sunday featured a double from Vangelis Pavlidis and a stoppage-time strike courtesy of Gianluca Prestianni.
Marco Silva’s side have a tricky trip to table-toppers Porto this coming weekend, but they must first focus on their trip to Milan and a good start in this season’s Europa League.
Benfica’s remaining league stage matches in the Europa League will include home games against AZ Alkmaar, Celtic, Lech Poznan, and OFI Crete, and away matches with FC Viktoria Plzeň, Omonoia FC, and NEC Nijmegen.
AC Milan vs Benfica head-to-head stats and key numbers
- AC Milan and Benfica have faced each other six times in their history, with Milan winning four of those matches.
- Benfica have never beaten Milan, with the other two matches between the clubs ending in draws.
- This will be the first time Milan and Benfica are meeting outside of the UEFA Champions League/European Cup, with two of their previous meetings being in finals of the European Cup (1962-63: 2-1 to AC Milan, 1989-90: 1-0 to AC Milan).
- The most recent meeting between these sides took place in the UEFA Champions League group stage in 2007, with the teams sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw in Portugal.
AC Milan vs Benfica prediction
AC Milan are expected to control possession while aiming to dictate the tempo, relying on quick transitions through midfield and via their wide players to put the Portuguese visitors under pressure.
Benfica arrive in Italy with great confidence regarding their offensive abilities, boasting a prolific attack and wins against every team they have faced this season. The Portuguese side will likely press high as they try to disrupt Milan’s build-up play, while the Rossoneri will look to feed off the energy of the fans at the San Siro.
We expect Milan to make the most of their home advantage to secure a narrow victory in this opening game.
Prediction: AC Milan 2-1 Benfica
AC Milan vs Benfica betting tips
Tip 1: AC Milan to win
Tip 2: Both teams to score
Tip 3: Over 2.5 goals
Edited by Peter Pedroncelli
