Rennes vs AC Milan Match Preview
AC Milan visit the Roazhon Park on Thursday to face Rennes in the second leg of their preliminary round clash of the 2023-24 Europa League. The Rossoneri have a three-goal cushion in the tie after their comprehensive 3-0 victory last week. Ruben Loftus-Cheek netted a brace before Rafael Leao scored one as Stefano Pioli’s side have one leg in the round of 16.
However, their confidence took a hit at the weekend as Monza stunned Milan in a 4-2 league win. Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulisic scored apiece after the break to cancel out their two-goal advantage from the first half. But the Biancorossi scored twice more, in the 90th and 95th minute, to stun their mighty visitors in a shock win.
It’s also worth noting that Luka Jovic was sent off for Milan in the 52nd minute as the visitors played with 10-men for more than 40 minutes of the clash.
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On the other hand, Rennes are coming off the back of a 3-1 win over Clermont Foot in Ligue 1. Warmed Omari put them 1-0 up, before Martin Terrier struck a brace on either side of a goal from Chrislain Matisma for the visitors. Maximiliano Caufriez was also sent off for Clermont Foot late on.
This was their sixth consecutive win in Ligue 1 as the Rennais have climbed their way up from the bottom half of the table to within touching distance of European places. Head coach Julien Stéphan has worked his magic since arriving in November, and will be hoping to see his team translate that form onto the European stage too.
Team News
Rennes
The Rennais have two of their midfielders currently out with injuries. Fabian Rieder sustained a metatarsal fracture at the start of January. Although he’s on the road to recovery, the AC Milan fixture comes a bit too soon for him. Enzo Le Fee went off with a hamstring injury during their Sochaux thrashing in the French Cup. He isn’t expected to return before March.
Buoyed by his league double at the weekend, Marcus Terrier will be aiming to bag a few more here too as Rennes rely on their talismanic forward to turn the tie around.
Predicted XI: Steve Mandanda; Guela Doué, Warmed Omari, Arthur Theate, Adrien Truffert; Benjamin Bourigeaud, Azor Matusiwa, Baptiste Santamaria, Desire Doué; Arnaud Kalimuendo, Marcus Terrier
AC Milan
Davide Calabria sustained a knock to his adductor last week and missed their weekend game to Monza. He’s likely to sit out of this one too. Pierre Kalulu has been missing since October with a torn thigh muscle. Tommaso Pobega and Fikayo Tomori are both out with hamstring injuries. Luka Jovic was sent off at the weekend but he should be available for their clash on Thursday as league game suspension doesn’t apply in Europe.
Rafael Leao allayed all injury concerns from the week prior by playing against Monza and is certain to return to the starting lineup.
Predicted XI: Mike Maignan; Alessandro Florenzi, Simon Kjaer, Matteo Gabbia, Theo Hernandez; Yunus Musah, Tijjani Reijnders; Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Rafael Leao; Luka Jovic
Prediction
Rennes will need a Herculean performance here to overturn a three-goal deficit. Nonetheless, the least the French outfit will be aiming is to bow out in honor, by beating their mighty visitors. Milan will have to pick themselves up from the shock loss on Sunday, and have the means to do exactly that. A 3-0 advantage is big enough, but expect a much tighter contest in Rennes, with the hosts forcing a draw, before losing out on aggregate.
Predicted: Rennes 2-2 AC Milan
Betting Tips and Odds
Betting Tips
- Rennes and AC Milan to draw
- Both teams to score
- Goals over 2.5: yes
Match Odds
- Rennes: 2.80
- Draw: 3.60
- AC Milan: 2.80
- Source: Oddspedia
Where to Watch Rennes vs AC Milan
- India: Sony Sports Network
- UK: TNT Sports
- US: CBS Sports
- France: Canal+
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