A decades-long Champions League rivalry is set to be reignited this week – albeit in the Europa League – when Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan face Benfica, a side he knows extremely well.
The Rossoneri have started the season with four matches without defeat, beating the lesser-known Torino and Venezia before drawing with Juventus and Lazio.
Clearly, there is still room for improvement at AC Milan, but we can nevertheless say that they have started the season better than expected.
Benfica’s season, however, began nearly two months ago; they have played 12 matches across all competitions so far, suffering just one defeat in their opening match of the season alongside nine victories, seven of which have come in a row.
Ruben Amorim knows the Eagles extremely well from his time at Sporting, and he has a positive record against them, with six wins, four defeats and three draws.
How the bookies view it: A Red and Black triumph at San Siro
On paper, we could say that Benfica are the side in significantly better form, but the bookmakers still believe the Rossoneri have a better chance of winning.
At the moment, you can back AC Milan at 11/10, whilst Benfica are available at 9/5. A draw is also a distinct possibility, currently priced at 5/2.
Recent head-to-head: The Rossoneri are unbeaten since 1963
The rivalry between AC Milan and Benfica dates back to as far back as 1963, when they first met in a European Cup final. In 1990, they met again in the final, and over the next 17 years they faced each other four more times in the Champions League.
To date, Benfica have not won a single match against the Rossoneri in a UEFA competition. They have two wins from a friendly and the International Champions Cup, but in official matches, AC Milan remain unbeaten.
Players to watch: Pavlidis doesn’t get enough recognition
The Rossoneri squad features both promising young talents and a number of highly experienced players at the very highest level, but there isn’t yet a single player about whom you could say it’s harder for him not to score than to score.
At Benfica, however, we have Vangelis Pavlidis, who is simply unstoppable, season after season. Since the start of this campaign, he has played in 11 matches for the Eagles and already has 14 goals and three assists to his name.
Probable line-ups
AC Milan: Maignan, Pavlovic, Gabbia, De Winter, Chukwueze, Moreira, Musah, Modric, Pulisic, Cisse, Ramos
Benfica: Soares, Dahl, Lenglet, Araujo, Aursnes, Palhinha, Barreiro, Silva, Prestianni, Schjelderup, Pavlidis
Anything else catch the eye?
Given that AC Milan and Benfica are two of the favourites to win the Europa League this year, this match could go either way. And, generally speaking, I don’t think the Rossoneri should be such clear favourites in this particular fixture.
After all, Benfica have scored 40 goals in 12 matches since the start of the season, which is a daunting statistic. They’re sure to find a way to score, and in my view, they also have a good chance of avoiding defeat overall.
GambleAware