ITALIAN giants AC Milan and Roma contest the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie at the San Siro on Thursday night.
The two sides are currently separated by three places and 13 points in the Serie A standings, with Milan in second spot while Roma are sitting fifth.
Stefano Pioli's side started the season in the Champions League before dropping down into the Europa League, where they have since seen off both Rennes and Slavia Prague.
The Rossoneri have run into a rich vein of form domestically of late, with their 3-0 win over Leece on Saturday extending their winning run to five matches in the Italian top-flight.
Roma have also been upwardly mobile in recent months, having lost just twice in 15 outings across all competitions since replacing Jose Mourinho with club legend Daniele De Rossi.
Having already eliminated both Feyenoord and Brighton en-route to the last-eight of the Europa League, the capital club won't be fazed by the task in hand when they go up against fellow Italian outfit AC Milan.
Outright Betting
AC Milan have already beaten Roma twice this season and they are odds-on 5/6 (Betfred) favourites to put them to the sword once again on Thursday night.
Fresh off the back of a 1-0 win against fierce rivals Lazio, Roma make the trip to the San Siro as 15/4 (William Hill) outsiders while the draw can be backed at 13/5 (William Hill) with the same firm.
Betting Angles
Whilst history would point towards all-Italian first leg knockout ties being low-scoring affairs, I'm prepared to go against the grain here and back Both Teams to Score at even-money (1/1) on Bet 365.
Since parachuting into this season's Europa League, AC Milan have been involved in a number of goal-heavy games, with each of their last three outings in Europe's secondary club competition featuring Over 3.5 match strikes.
What's more, both team have scored in each of the Rossoneri's last three continental contests, not to mention the same play would have also proven profitable in each of their final three Champions League group games earlier this season.
As such, Stefano Pioli's side could struggle to shutout a Roma side that have clearly upped their attacking output under Daniele De Rossi's stewardship.
In fact, the capital club have scored in 13 of their 15 outings under De Rossi's watch, notching twice or more in four of their seven road games across that sample.
With that in mind, as well as the fact that each team has obliged in each of the previous two meetings between the pair this season, siding with BTTS at the San Siro stands out at evens (Bet 365).
Switching attention to a player-based selection that merits consideration, we can back Roma's Romelu Lukaku to have a shot on target at 5/6 on Bet 365.
The Belgian striker has 19 goals to his name this season so he looks overpriced to work the goalkeeper just once at the San Siro on Thursday night.
This UEFA Europa League match between AC Milan and Roma will be played on Apr 11, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best AC Milan vs Roma prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
