AC MILAN and Rennes resume their respective continental campaigns on Thursday night when they square off in the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie at the San Siro.
The Rossoneri spent the first half of the season in Champions League Group F and they will consider themselves unlucky to have been eliminated having amassed the same amount of points as second-placed PSG.
As such, Stefano Pioli's side have parachuted into Europe's secondary club coemption where they will come up against French outfit Rennes.
Milan warmed up for their maiden Europa League match of the season with a narrow 1-0 win over Napoli in Serie A on Sunday, a victory that cemented their position in third spot in the table.
Rennes, meanwhile, extended their winning run in Ligue 1 to five matches on Sunday with a hard-fought 1-0 win away at Le Havre.
Julien Stéphan's side finished as runners-up in Europa League Group F, meaning that they will now have to overcome one of Europe's most decorated clubs if they are to progress to the round of 16.
Outright Betting
This will be the first ever meeting the sides and unsurprisingly AC Milan are the bookmakers favourites to come out on top at 4/6 with Ladbrokes.
Rennes won two of their three Europa League Group F away games earlier this season but a San Siro success is as big as 9/2 (Betfred) while the stalemate can be backed at 3/1 (Betfred).
Betting Angles
AC Milan are worthy favourites on Thursday night but to engineer a more backable price I’ll bundle up AC Milan Double Chance and Over 1 AC Milan Goal at 4/5 (Bet 365).
As already alluded to, AC Milan were extremely unfortunate not to have reached the last 16 of the Champions League so they will be expected to make a deep run in this season’s Europa League.
What’s more, Stefano Pioli’s side are pretty much locked in third spot in Serie A so they can probably afford to put all of their eggs into the Europa League basket.
As such, I’m more than happy to back the Rossoneri to avoid defeat on Thursday night against a Rennes side who came up short in both of their group stage games with Villarreal.
What’s more, Julien Stéphan’s side shipped at least once goal in four of their Group F fixtures so they could struggle to tame an AC Milan team that have numerous attacking weapons within their armoury.
The Italian giants have netted multiple goals in six of their last eight matches across all competitions and a couple of strikes may be needed to overcome Rennes.
The Red and Blacks have made the net bulge in each of their last eight matches across all competitions so they could land a blow against a Milan side that leak more than their fair share.
With all that in mind, merging AC Milan Double Chance and Over 1 AC Milan Goal seems like a sensible solution at 4/5 (Bet 365).
This UEFA Europa League match between AC Milan and Rennes will be played on Feb 15, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best AC Milan vs Rennes prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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