Sinking for the poor results in the Italian League, Milan have on Thursday, November 2, the opportunity to secure with two rounds of anticipation to qualify for the second phase of the Europa League. In a match for the fourth round of the group stage, the first of the second round, will face the AEK. Starting at 16h (GMT) the game takes place at the Olympic Spiros Louis in Athens.
The Italians lead the D with seven points earned and will be guaranteed a spot in the tournament knockout stage if they beat the Greeks, who are in second place with five. The top two are still in contention for the title. Third place is in the hands of Rijeka, with three points, followed by Austria Vienna, with one.
The recent performance of AEK
AEK is well on its three fronts. With a goalless draw in Milan in the third round managed to remain in the zone of classification of the Europa League and still has the advantage of performing in their domains two of the three remaining matches.
On Sunday, October 29, also as a visitor, he was even better at Panionios. He won by 1-0 breaking a three-game sequence with no success (two losses and a draw) in the tournament. He took 17 points (five wins, two draws and two losses) to third place. It is only two points behind Atromitos, leader, and one less in comparison with PAOK, placed second.
This boosts his fans ‘hopes of breaking a seven-year hegemony of Oympiacos’ achievements, which ranks fourth with three points less than AEK.
In the Greek Cup, the team also won a quiet victory against Apollon Larissa. Goleou, in the rival’s stadium, 7-0, taking the isolated lead of Group C with six points. Lamia and Apollon Larissa come next with three points. Without scoring, the Kalithea is in the flashlight. The top two placed in this fight advance to the next stage.
Commanded by the Spanish coach Manuel Jimezes, the AEK has two possible casualties for the match. Goalkeeper Vasilios Barkas is in the medical department. It has been substituted by Anestis Giannis. Also in the ward is the defender Dmytro Bakakis (two performances in the Greek Championship 2017/2018, no goal).
The current form of Milan
Although they are in good condition in the Europa League, the Milanese can not repeat the performance in Serie A Italian. On Saturday, October 28, they were beaten 2-1 at home by Juventus.
Parked on 16 points (five wins, one draw and five losses), the club completed the eleventh round in eighth place, out of the zone for qualifying for European tournaments in the 2018/2019 season.
A situation far below expectations. After a great investment in reinforcements, the minimum that was expected of Milan was to fight for the classification for the Champions League of Europe. After 11 days, this block is closed by Lazio, which added 12 points more than the Milanese.
Thus, the most real goal at the moment seems to be the struggle to once again qualify for the Europa League. Even in this scenario of lower ambition the situation of Milan is not the best. Sampdoria, who are sixth in the standings, the last to qualify for the competition, have four points more than Milan and have played less than the Reds.
While many first-tier clubs are taking advantage of the first phase of the Europa League to relay their titles, coach Vincenzo Montella, surrounded by rumors of early dismissal, can not afford that. So he must put on the field this Thursday the best he has at hand.
The only limitations to the qualification are for three athletes who are in the infirmary and will need a new evaluation to know if they can be available to the coach. They are defenders Davide Calabria (four matches in the 2017/2018 Italian Championships without a goal) and Andrea Conti (two matches without a goal) and striker Giacomo Bonaventura (seven matches without a goal).
History of the bouts between AEK and Milan
The teams had their paths crossed in the 2006/2007 edition of the Champions League. Who played at home won. In Milan, the red-blacks won by 3-0. In Athens, the AEK scored 1 to 0.
PREDICTION: AC Milan win @ 2.20
