An Italian affair tonight as Milan lock horns with Roma in the first leg of the two-legged Europa League quarter-final tie.
Milan will hope to stretch their winning run to eight matches in a row across all competitions with a victory tonight, but it will not be a walk in the park. Since doubts over his future have circled, Stefano Pioli has been spot-on with his tactics in recent matches and they have a good lead in second place in the league standings from Juventus. Milan conceded a few goals over the two legs against Slavia Praha in the Round of 16 stage but they managed to score seven goals on aggregate as they cruised through. The Rossoneri have netted at least two goals in each of their last four outings as they will aim to continue their red-hot attacking form.
Meanwhile, Roma enter this match in a jubilant mood after earning the bragging rights in the Derby della Capitale. Gianluca Mancini’s lone header stood the difference as he ended Roma’s derby curse. With Daniele De Rossi in charge, the Giallorossi have lost only once in the 11 games played under him, acquiring 26 points along the way. The Italian capital side dream of qualifying for the Champions League next season and they are only three points behind 4th-placed Bologna in the Serie A table. Roma will aim to win the clash tonight at the San Siro to defend the lead in front of the home fans in the return leg.
Here are the predicted line-ups for the match according to Sky Italia:
Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Gabbia, Theo Hernandez; Bennacer, Reijnders; Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao; Giroud.
Roma (4-3-3): Svilar; Celik, Mancini, Smalling, Spinazzola; Cristante, Paredes, Pellegrini; Dybala, Lukaku, El Shaarawy.
Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN
