Europa League: AC Milan vs Roma Odds – Preview
All-Italian Quarter-Final
First Ever Meeting in UEFA Competition
Eight teams are left in the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League and three of them are Italian sides. In an all-Italian Quarter-Final matchup, AC Milan take on AS Roma. This is their first ever meeting in UEFA competition but the sides have already met twice in Serie A this season.
The Rossoneri are in great form heading into this one, as they’re on a seven game winning streak. Roma are also riding high after a Derby della Capitale victory over Lazio. Ahead of Thursday’s first leg at the San Siro, we’ll check out the AC Milan vs Roma odds.
AC Milan vs Roma
Day/Time:
Location: Stadio San Siro, Milan, Italy
AC Milan vs Roma Head-to-Head
This is the third meeting between AC Milan and Roma this season. In January, Milan picked up a 3-1 win in Serie A. Yacine Adli, Olivier Giroud and Theo Hernandez were on the scoresheet for the Rossoneri.
The pregame AC Milan vs Roma odds priced Milan as +115 favorites. Milan are unbeaten in their last nine games vs AS Roma and also won the Serie A reverse fixture 2-1 in Rome. Thursday will be the first match between AC Milan and Roma on the UEL schedule.
Milan Scoring With Ease
AC Milan won their seventh straight UEL game, in all competitions, when they took down Lecce 3-0 in Serie A on Saturday. Christian Pulisic scored his 10th goal of the Serie A season on a left footed strike, while Olivier Giroud doubled the lead on a header before halftime.
Rafael Leao added the Rossoneri’s third and second-placed Milan look as if they’ll cruise into the Champions League next season.
Leao has picked things up over the last couple of months and he’s registered three goals and two assists in his last three games. Milan also easily defeated Slavia Prague in the Round of 16, with a 7-3 victory on aggregate.
Former Chelsea players Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were on the scoresheet in both matches vs Slavia Prague. Since dropping down to the UEL from the Champions League, Milan’s Europa League stats are quite impressive. In four matches, they’ve averaged three goals per game and have scored at least twice in each outing.
Out of the Coppa Italia and well behind Inter Milan in Serie A, the Europa League presents an excellent opportunity for Stefano Pioli’s men to win a trophy. They currently sit at +600 odds to win the UEL, which certainly isn’t an awful bet, as they’re just one year removed from a Champions League Semifinal appearance.
On Thursday, bettors can expect defenders Pierre Kalulu and Malick Thiaw to miss out due to injury, along with midfielder Tommaso Pobega.
Roma Finally Grab Derby Win
Heading into Saturday’s Derby della Capitale vs Lazio, AS Roma hadn’t scored against their rivals since March 2022. Gianluca Mancini changed that, as he headed home on a corner for the game’s only goal.
In his first Derby as a coach, Daniele De Rossi’s side posed the bigger threat and stayed in the Champions League race with a win. Roma have also kept three straight clean sheets heading into Thursday’s game.
The Giallorossi have had their ups and downs in the UEL this season. They finished in second place in the Group G Europa League standings, behind Slavia Prague.
Roma defeated Feyenoord in penalties in the play-off round after two 1-1 draws. In the Round of 16, Roma flashed their attacking potential with a 4-0 first leg win over Brighton in which Mancini, Paulo Dybala and Bryan Cristante all got on the scoresheet.
De Rossi was able to rest Lukaku and Dybala for the second leg, which Roma lost 1-0. The Giallorossi have won just one of their last four matches in the Europa League but their defensive efforts have been impressive as of late.
Mile Svilar has done a solid job in goal since being promoted to the starting XI. Here, Houssem Aouar and Sardar Azmoun are out due to injury/illness, while center back Evan N’Dicka is suspended.
AC Milan vs Roma Match Analysis & Odds
Roma’s N’Dicka was also suspended for the Derby match and De Rossi could go with Diego Llorente at center back once again. Regardless, the AC Milan vs Roma odds list hosts Milan as -125 favorites and they’ve won four of their last six games vs Roma at the San Siro.
Plus, AC Milan are unbeaten in their last nine vs the Giallorossi. Still, Roma have been reinvigorated under De Rossi and have made European finals in each of the last two campaigns under Jose Mourinho.
They play with pride in the Europa League but are +360 underdogs for Thursday’s first leg. A draw (+260) would be an excellent result for Roma and not the end of the world for the Rossoneri. Roma +0.5 comes in at -105 odds and they’ve only been able to avoid defeat in two of their last seven games vs AC Milan.
Roma will rely on their defense to thwart a dangerous Milan attack. Milan coach Pioli experimented with Pulisic at the 10 on Saturday, with Leao and Samuel Chukwueze on the wings and Giroud up top.
That’s a scary front four and Roma will have to be close to their best to grab a result here. In what’s expected to be a tight match, under 2.5 goals are priced at -130 UEL odds.
For UEL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
