Having snatched a late draw at Old Trafford last week, AC Milan welcome Manchester United to the San Siro, Milan, Italy in the second leg of their Last 16 tie in 2020-21 UEFA Europa League.
AC Milan know that with their one away goal, a goalless draw would see them advance on away goals rule but if United score then the Serie A team need to realistically win to secure a Quarter-Final spot.
Man Utd meanwhile have to realistically score twice to stand any chance of progressing either on aggregate winners or via the away goals rule, although a 1-1 draw would see extra-time and potentially penalties.
Team News
Ismael Bennacer is set to return for AC Milan after recovering from a muscle injury which saw him miss the first leg.
Zlatan Ibrahimović is a doubt as he continues to rebuild his match fitness following a muscle injury, although the Swede could be deemed fit enough for the bench.
Man Utd could welcome David De Gea back in goal after the Spaniard missed United’s last four matches for personal reasons.
Edinson Cavani (knock), Paul Pogba, Donny van de Beek (both muscle) and Anthony Martial (hip) could also be in contention but Juan Mata (unspecified) and Phil Jones (knee) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- AC Milan have won just one of their last five meetings against Manchester United in all UEFA competitions (W1, D1, L3).
- Man Utd have won just one of five previous trips to the San Siro, scoring just three goals and conceding 12 goals in total across those five visits.
- Last week’s 1-1 draw at Old Trafford marked the first draw between these two teams in 11 previous meetings across all UEFA competitions.
- Three of Hakan Calhanoglu’s five Europa League goals for AC Milan have come at San Siro.
- Four of Bruno Fernandes’ six European goals for Man Utd this season have come away from Old Trafford.
Prediction
With AC Milan’s home form in 2021 on the slide with just two wins in eight matches at San Siro and a dominant but wasteful first leg display which luckily yielded a potentially key away goal, the Italian team definitely need to come out fighting because Man Utd will be tougher to beat with De Gea back in goal.
Man Utd were certainly made to work for their win over West Ham who opted for a five-man defence which really caused issues for the Red Devils in limiting them to the flanks, despite their dominance in attack because they were unable to find space to create those opportunities upon goal inside the box.
I therefore am intrigued as to how this game will play out because AC Milan will likely try and settle for a goalless draw, whereas Man Utd know that if they get the first goal then it’s game on despite their poor record at the San Siro.
One positive for Utd though is that they could have several key players in Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba back, which might well be the difference if they can deliver a clinical performance because this should be a more open game than in the Red Devils’ last two matches.
Prediction: AC Milan 1-2 Manchester United
Result: AC Milan 0-1 Manchester United (Manchester United win 2-1 on aggregate!!)