Slavia Praha vs AC Milan Preview
Slavia Praha are scheduled to host AC Milan in the second leg of Europa League Round of 16 this Friday. Jindřich Trpišovský’s squad lost 2-4 in the first encounter in Milan, making this meeting a “must-win” match to extend their stay in the competition.
The host will be without El Hadji Malick Diou due to card suspension against one of the three Italian teams they have never beaten. On the other hand, Milan have won three times in total against Praha-based teams, two against Sparta and one against Slavia in the first leg.
Things are getting more tough for Slavia as they have not been winning any of their four Europa League knockouts. The last time they won a knockout in the competition was against LASK 4-1 at home in March 2022.
Also Read: Turkish prodigy Arda Guler scores his first goal for Real Madrid against Celta Vigo
Rossonerri have an impressive record when leading two goals or more in the knockout stage of European competition since the 1995/96 season. Bordeaux was the only team who secured a comeback against Milan by winning 3-0 in the second leg after losing 0-2 in the reversed fixture.
Milan’s striker Olivier Giroud is one goal away from becoming the oldest player to score in both legs of Europa League’s knockouts. The squad are reported to have a light exercise including sparring against the Primavera team at Milanello.
Slavia Praha vs AC Milan Team News and Predicted Lineups
Slavia Praha
Diouf is the only suspended player among the Slavia squad and Jan Boril is favoured to step up the role. Along with that, they still have to deal with multiple medical issues of numerous players. Petr Sevcik, Ondrej Kolar, Lukas Vorlicky, and David Pech are out for injury. Meanwhile, Christos Zafeiris is in doubt after suffering a knock.
Predicted XI: Jindřich Staněk, Jan Boril, David Zima, Tomas Holes, Tomáš Vlček, Lukáš Masopust, Oscar Dorley, Ondřej Zmrzlý, Lukáš Provod, David Douděra, Mojmír Chytil.
AC Milan
Milan are in good condition before the second leg with no significant health crisis. The only suspended player is Tomasso Pobega who is undergoing medical treatment on his hamstring.
Tijjani Reijnders is likely to start again after scoring in the first encounter. With an advanced situation of leading in the aggregate, Stefano Pioli is likely to rotate their players for the Verona away trip two days later.
Predicted XI: Mike Maignan, Alessandro Florenzi, Fikayo Tomori, Matteo Gabbia, Theo Hernandez, Yacine Adli, Tijjani Reijnders, Ismail Bennacer, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, Olivier Giroud.
Slavia Praha vs AC Milan Head-To-Head
Both teams have only met once in the European competition with Milan winning in the first leg in San Siro last month. .
Last games, head-to-head
- AC Milan 4-2 Slavia Praha
Milan have not lost any games in Praha in their two visits, winning twice against Slavia’s city rival Sparta in 2020. Speaking of which, Milan are one of the three Italian sides yet to be beaten by Slavia, apart from Fiorentina and Bologna.
Slavia Praha vs AC Milan Prediction
Including the victory over Slavia, Milan have not been beaten in the last four outings. Pioli’s important players such as Theo Hernandez, Christian Pulisic, and Olivier Giroud are also in stock.
Slavia on the other hand, will play in front of their fanatic crowd which would cause a huge mental pressure for Milan. Two goals are tough to level. However, considering their impressive domestic run plus playing at their own ground, the seven-time league winners are onto business this time.
Predicted Score: Slavia Praha 2-1 AC Milan
Slavia Praha vs AC Milan Betting Tips
Betting Tips
- Slavia to win with a goal deficit
- Both teams to score: yes
- Goals over 2.5: no
Odds
- Slavia Praha: 3.23
- Draw: 3.93
- AC Milan: 2.32
- Source: Oddspedia
Slavia Praha vs AC Milan Timing and Telecast
- Date: Friday, 15 March at 08:00 PM (GMT)
- India: Viacom18
- UK: Viaplay
- US: ABC, ESPN
- Spain: Movistar LaLiga
Also Read: Real Sociedad vs Cadiz Preview, Prediction and Betting Tips