The 2020/21 UEFA Europa League is at the second qualifying stage of the competition and we have seen the introduction of some big name teams. In fact, it does not get much bigger than Italian giants AC Milan and they face a trip to Ireland to play Shamrock Rovers. The match will be played on Thursday the 17th of September at the Tallaght Stadium.
Shamrock Rovers started their Europa League campaign in the first qualifying round and faced Ilves of Finland at home. Having gone behind after only 10 minutes of the game, Shamrock Rovers struck back just a few minutes later with the equalising goal. The Finnish club retook the lead in the second half but the hosts showed their fighting spirit to come back into the game for a second time, scoring in the 78th minute.
Despite having a man sent off in the 88th minute, Shamrock Rovers took the match to penalties and they came out on top in the shootout.
Shamrock Rovers are dominating the domestic League in Ireland, currently sitting 8 points clear at the top of the table after 11 matches played. They are yet to taste defeat this season and will be aiming to maintain their unbeaten record against AC Milan.
Their Europa League record at home shows 3 straight victories for Shamrock Rovers, including wins over Brann and Apollon. However, they have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last 5 home Europa League matches.
AC Milan we will be playing their first competitive fixture of the 2020/21 season. They have played several friendly games in Italy and have had little trouble in defeating opposition including Novara, Monza, Vicenza Virtus, and Brescia.
The Serie A club finished last season strongly and went 12 matches undefeated in their domestic league. They managed to pick up 4 away wins towards the end of the season but AC Milan’s Away record in the Europa League shows just one victory from their last 4 away fixtures in the competition.
There have been two defeats in those 4 games, which came at Arsenal and Olympiakos. The only victory came away from home at F91 Dudelange and it was a narrow 1-0 win for AC Milan.
Looking ahead to the team news and Shamrock Rovers will be without defender Liam Scales, who is suspended following his red card in the previous round. Graham Burke is set to start up front for the hosts.
AC Milan are set to be without four players as Alessio Romagnoli, Andrea Conti, Pablo Musacchio and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are injured. Ante Rebić has recently made his loan move permanent and could start the game in attack.
Important week ahead. Ready for competitive action 👊#UEL: manca poco. Si lavora per la prima stagionale. Forza ragazzi! 👊 #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/GYsUtDwrxv— AC Milan (@acmilan) September 14, 2020
Important week ahead. Ready for competitive action 👊#UEL: manca poco. Si lavora per la prima stagionale. Forza ragazzi! 👊 #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/GYsUtDwrxv
This is a big game for Shamrock Rovers and they have the ability to make it a tough night for AC Milan. However, the Italian club have plenty of experience and should come away with the victory. It may be a tight affair, with just a single goal being the difference between the two teams.