AC Milan are hoping to take advantage of their good form and book a spot in the quarter finals of the Europa League. To do that, they need to beat Arsenal, a team that’s desperately hoping to improve the form. The first part of the doubleheader takes place this Thursday in Milan and if you want to make some money betting on it, this match preview can come in very handy!
AC Milan vs Arsenal Betting Preview
AC Milan
Rossoneri have been in a sensational form lately, winning 6 games in a row, counting all competitions. Actually, they’re without a single defeat in 2018. In fact, since Genaro Gattuso has been appointed the manager of AC Milan last November, this side has lost only three times.
What’s really distinctive about his managerial approach is that Gattuso has made all AC Milan’s player really fired up for every single match. They’ve been playing very offensively and pressing all around the pitch when the opponent has the ball. This is a sort of play that many pundits compare with the style of Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, or even Manchester City.
Of course, being motivated would not mean much unless AC Milan players had enough talent. They definitely do, which isn’t a big surprise, knowing how much this team spent on transfers last summer. In summer 2017, Rossoneri brought Bonucci, Biglia, Çalhanoğlu, Andre Silva, Ricardo Rodríguez, and many others, spending more than 180 million Euro along the way. The big-name signings took a while to shine, but now they’re showing they’re worth their price tag.
On top of that, the players who came from AC Milan’s youth academy have also been impressive lately. I’m talking about Patrick Cutrone, who’s been one of their top scorers this season. Equally impressive has been Calabria, as well as Donnarumma, who’s dubbed to be a true heir of Buffon.
Arsenal
It seems that the fans have had enough of Arsene Wenger – they’re planning to make an official request to the club’s board to release the Frenchman. Such decision came as a result of a poll conducted last weekend when almost 90% of Arsenal fans declared they wanted Wenger out.
Perhaps their opinion might change on Tuesday evening if the Gunners perform well in Italy. A good result would definitely do them good, not only to ease the pressure on the manager but also to give a morale boost to the players. Arsenal is a team that has been playing disastrously in the past few weeks. They lost all 4 previous matches, including a Europa League duel with Östersunds and a Premier League game with Brighton.
No one can deny that Arsenal has plenty of super-talented players in the squad, but they’ve just not been playing well lately. They definitely have the quality to go past Milan in the Europa League, although it seems that Premier League is their main focus. One thing that gives their fans hope ahead of this duel is that, rather surprisingly, they don’t have too big problems with injuries.
Team News
AC Milan absentees:
- None
Arsenal absentees:
- Alexandre Lacazette (injury)
- Santi Cazorla (injury)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (ineligible)
Probable Lineups:
AC Milan: Donnarumma, Calabria, Bonucci, Romagnoli, Rodriguez, Kessie, Biglia, Bonaventura, Suso, Cutrone, Calhanoglu.
Arsenal: Ospina , Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Kolasinac, Ramsey, Xhaka, Wilshere, Mkhitaryan, Welbeck, Ozil.
AC Milan vs. Arsenal Match Prediction
Last weekend, AC Milan’s clash with Inter was postponed due to the death of Fiorentina’s captain, Davide Astori. As a result, Rossoneri had more time to prepare for the match with Arsenal, both physically and tactically.
The Gunners, on the other hand, lost to Brighton this Sunday, causing a real state of emergency in the club. Arsenal players need to start playing much better, but I don’t think we’ll see that happening on Thursday. In my opinion, AC Milan will be the happier side after the final whistle.
AC Milan vs. Arsenal Betting Tip
AC Milan @2.15 (Unibet)
