We have reached the quarterfinal stage of the 2023/24 Europa League and we have one all-Italian affair to enjoy.
The first leg of the tie between AC Milan and Roma will be played on the 11th of April at the San Siro. The hosts are currently 2nd in Serie A on 68 points while the visitors are in 5th place on 55 points.
AC Milan come into the match having beat Lecce 3-0 at home in Serie on the weekend.
Countless battles, countless memories 🔴⚫This time, with a different taste ⚔️#ACMASR #UEL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/8za7J4mlIj— AC Milan (@acmilan) April 9, 2024
Countless battles, countless memories 🔴⚫This time, with a different taste ⚔️#ACMASR #UEL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/8za7J4mlIj
It took only 6 minutes for the hosts to open the scoring and they doubled their advantage 14 minutes later.
Lecce had a man sent off on the stroke of halftime and AC Milan secured the points with a third goal in the 57th minute.
The victory over Lecce means AC Milan are undefeated in their 8 most recent fixtures in all competitions.
They have won each of their last 7 games, with the wins coming over Lazio, Verona, and Fiorentina away in Serie A, Empoli at home in Serie A, plus Slavia Prague home and away in the Europa League.
Statistics show AC Milan have won 3 of their 4 most recent Europa League matches. Their home record shows 1 defeat in their last 5 home Europa League games but they have won only 2 of the last 4 on home soil.
Both teams have scored in 3 of AC Milans’ last 5 home Europa League matches.
Roma make the trip to the San Siro having recorded a 1-0 victory in the Rome derby against Lazio in Serie A on the weekend.
Roma were the home team for this game, so enjoyed the bulk of the support and the fans were rewarded with a goal in the 42nd minute that was good enough to take maximum points.
The win over Lazio means Roma are undefeated in 10 of their last 11 fixtures in all competitions. There have been wins over Frosinone and Monza away plus Torino and Sassuolo at home in Serie A.
There was also a 4-0 home win over Brighton in the Europa League plus draws home and away with Feyenoord in the same competition.
Trends show Roma are undefeated in 5 of their 6 most recent Europa League games. They have failed to win any of their last 4 on the road in the Europa League but have taken a draw in 2 of their last 3 away trips in the competition.
Roma have seen both teams score in 4 of their last 6 away Europa League games.
Team news: AC Milan are without the injured trio of Pierre Kalulu, Álex Jiménez, and Tommaso Pobega. They also have doubts over the fitness of Malick Thiaw.
Roma travel without suspended defender Evan Ndicka. Houssem Aouar and Sardar Azmoun are both injured.
Roma have failed to beat AC Milan in their last 9 attempts so a Roma victory seems highly unlikely. However, 2 of the 4 most recent clashes have ended level and this one could finish the same way, with both teams scoring.