AC Milan take on the visitors Rennes in the first leg of UEFA Europa League 1/16-finals. The match will be played on Thursday, February 15th at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) (Milan).
AC Milan once again failed to make it to the knockout stages of the Champions League. This was the case in the season before last as well, but then they managed to secure the scudetto, overshadowing all failures. However, in the 2022/2023 season, the focus shifted towards results on the European stage: failing to retain the Serie A title, the Italians compensated for it by reaching the Champions League semifinals. Currently, Stefano Pioli and his team settled for third place, although they lost to PSG with equal points and exchanged victories, based on additional criteria. In Serie A, the red and blacks now hold a fairly clear niche in third place: better than all others but clearly inferior to Juventus and especially their neighbor Inter. They were also eliminated from the country's cup, losing to Atalanta at home. Everything speaks in favor of focusing main efforts on the Europa League.
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Rennes leaves a less than favorable impression. The Red and Blacks have yet to reach the level of a top team even by French standards. However, recently they have been achieving quite notable successes. In 2019, for the first time in almost half a century, they won the French Cup. And a year later, they set a record in Ligue 1, finishing third overall. At that time, they even managed to try themselves, albeit unsuccessfully, in the Champions League. They couldn't replicate such an outcome, but last season brought them a fourth-place finish. Against this background, there has been a noticeable decline in the championship lately, where the team is now among the mid-table teams, and there is less time and opportunity to rectify this. However, in the cup, following the elimination of Guingamp, albeit in a protracted penalty shootout, they defeated Marseille, and in the last round, they crushed Sochaux. They also easily passed the group stage of the Europa League. However, in the last round, as if relaxing, they allowed themselves to be defeated and consequently surpassed by Villarreal. The Spaniards will start the knockout stage from the round of 16 from the 1st position, while the French team will ultimately face off against the Italian giant.
The French rarely play on the international stage. So it's not surprising that they will be visiting the San Siro for the first time. The Rossoneri are stronger and playing at home. So, you can bet on the victory of Stefano Pioli's wards with a handicap of -1.0 goals.
Prediction for the match: AC Milan to win with -1.0 handicap.
