It was tense at times but AC Milan found a way to get the job done against Rennes and advanced to the last 16 of this season’s Europa League.
Despite having won the Champions League on no fewer than seven different occasions, remarkably Milan have never won either the Europa League or UEFA Cup. They will hope to change that record this season.
With sixteen teams standing in the way of Milan and even more European glory, let’s take a look at the main challengers for this year’s Europa League crown.
AC Milan
There are very few teams left in this stage of the competition that can match the European pedigree of AC Milan.
Perennial European contenders, the Rossoneri will be confident of another deep run and on paper they look to have a squad more than capable of challenging.
With a squad littered with an abundance of European experience, the likes of Olivier Giroud, Mike Maignan, Simon Kjaer and Theo Hernandez will all need to play their part. However, Milan’s progress could depend on the form of Rafael Leão.
Arguably one of the most talented players in world football, it’s been a poor season for Leão, but he has the ability to turn it all around.
If Leão can rediscover his best, he has the capacity to help Milan win any game.
Liverpool
The only side that can run Milan close when it comes to European history is Liverpool.
The favourites to lift the trophy, those that use betting sites with free bets are bound to take advantage and back the Reds.
In what is Jurgen Klopp’s final season with the club, Liverpool will be desperate to end the German’s time with the club on a high and they look to have a squad which is more than capable of a deep run.
The one area which other teams like AC Milan will hope to take advantage of is the fact that Liverpool find themselves firmly in the mix for other competitions.
Right in the mix of the Premier League title race, they are still in the FA Cup and have plenty of high pressure games to come.
With Klopp needing to rotate his side, his Europa League team could contain more of his reserves and give other teams a real chance of knocking them out.
Leverkusen
Across all of Europe’s major leagues there hasn’t been a team in better form than Leverkusen.
Sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga thanks to a fantastic 3-0 victory over Bayern Munich, Xabi Alonso and his exciting young side are in the midst of a season that could be memorable.
Yet to win the Europa League or UEFA Cup, Leverkusen look to have a major chance of bettering their previous best effort when they reached the final back in 1988.
Having dispatched all before them, few would bet against the German side going all the way.
Roma
Few teams have enjoyed as much recent European success as Roma. The winners of the 2021/2022 Europa Conference League, they were defeated finalists in last year’s Europa League.
Jose Mourinho was the mastermind of those two runs but won’t be on hand to lead the team this time around due to him leaving the club earlier in the season.
Since Mourinho’s departure, Daniele De Rossi has been able to get a tune out of his stars and has them well placed to contend for the Champions League places in Serie A.
Boasting a talented squad and with recent experience in how to advance to the latter stages of European tournaments, ignore Roma at your peril!
Beware the minnows
Despite the sides we have highlighted above likely to contend for this year’s Europa League crown, there are several other teams that everyone will want to avoid.
Whilst both Brighton and West Ham have nowhere near the pedigree of European rivals Liverpool, both have talented squads and could be tough to beat.
Brighton have settled into life at this level like a duck to water and won’t be intimidated by any opposition, West Ham are the reigning Europa Conference League Champions and can’t be overlooked.
Sporting Lisbon should never be slept on. Currently locked in a battle for the Portuguese title with Benfica, Sporting knocked out Arsenal in last year’s tournament before narrowly succumbing to Juventus in the quarterfinals.
Boasting a talented and young squad, a team will need to play exceptionally well to get past them.
