AC Milan vs Benfica Europa League Tips & Prediction - Heavyweight clash between former European champions
AC Milan and Benfica meet in one of Europa League's opening highlights, with both teams coming into the match in strong attacking form. Benfica are on a scoring spree in Portugal and impressively unbeaten domestically, while AC Milan have shown resilience with back-to-back draws against strong opposition. Key players on both sides, such as Pavlidis and Ramos, are poised to make an impact. The best value prediction tips both teams to score and the match to end in an entertaining draw, with Pavlidis backed to score anytime.
- AC Milan vs Benfica predictions for Wednesday's Europa League game
- Both teams involved in high-scoring fixtures over the last month
- BTTS - Yes and a draw tipped, with Vangelis Pavlidis aiming for 15th goal of the season
- The game is scheduled for kick off at 5.00am AEST on Thursday September 17
AC Milan vs Benfica Europa League Tips & Prediction
Both teams are tipped to score and a draw looks good value as AC Milan and Benfica collide in a blockbuster Europa League Matchday 1 showdown at the San Siro on Wednesday night.
Arguably the pick of the Europa League Matchday 1 fixtures sees former European champions AC Milan and Benfica lock horns - and if recent trends are any indication, we should be in for an entertaining and evenly matched contest.
Benfica are banging in goals for fun in Liga Portugal, scoring 21 times across their opening six league outings, while 3+ goals were scored in five of their six qualifying matches for this competition in the summer.
Meanwhile, Milan are coming off back-to-back score draws with Juventus and Lazio, two teams of similar quality to Benfica. Ruben Amorin's side have also scored 2+ goals in three of their opening four Serie A matches.
Plenty of attacking talent on display, headlined by Milan striker Goncalo Ramos, who has actually scored eight goals in UEFA competitions for Benfica, while Vangelis Pavlidis is the main man for the Portuguese outfit, scoring 14 goals from 11 games in all comps to start the season.
So the three betting angles for this one are for both teams to score and the spoils to be shared. Pavlidis is the anytime goalscorer play.
AC Milan vs Benfica Stats & Trends
- Benfica have seen BTTS land in seven of their last 10 games
- Milan have seen BTTS land in three of their last four games
- Milan have seen BTTS land in seven of their last 10 European games
- Benfica have scored 21 goals in their last six league games
- Milan have scored 2+ goals in three of their four Serie A games this season
- Milan have drawn their last two Serie A games
- Vangelis Pavlidis scored six goals in three Europa League qualifier appearances
- Pavlidis has also scored eight goals in six Liga Portugal games this season
AC Milan vs Benfica Head To Head
This will be the first meeting between the teams since 2007. Milan are unbeaten in the six previous competitive encounters, including victories in the 1963 and 1990 European Cup finals.
AC Milan Form Analysis
Six defeats from their final 10 Serie A games last season saw Milan's hopes of Champions League football slip away, instead having to settle for Europa League action this term.
Ruben Amorin has taken charge for this season and has recent experience in this competition having advanced into the final with Man United in 2024/25.
Amorin has overseen a four-game unbeaten start to the Serie A season, with Milan registering victories over Torino (2-1) and Venezia (2-0) in their opening two games before back-to-back score draws with Juventus (1-1) and Lazio (2-2).
Milan recovered from a two-goal deficit against Lazio this past weekend, with Diego Moreira scoring a brace within two minutes midway through the second half to earn his side a share of the spoils.
AC Milan Team News
Milan look to have a fully fit squad to choose from here.
Luka Modric hasn't started a European game outside of the Champions League since 2011, but has featured from the start in Milan's last three Serie A games.
Goncalo Ramos should start against his former club, while Moreira will be looking to make further impact following his crucial brace last weekend.
AC Milan Possible Starting XI (3-4-3): Mike Maignan; Mario Gila, Koni De Winter, Strahinja Pavlovic; Samuel Chukwueze, Luka Modrić, Adrien Rabiot, Diego Moreira; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Goncalo Ramos, Alphadjo Cissé
Benfica Form Analysis
Benfica enter this Europa League campaign as one of the genuine favourites for the trophy.
Marco Silva's team have incredibly gone 55 games unbeaten in the Liga Portugal since January 2025, while it took Real Madrid to knock them out of the Champions League last term.
Ultimately draws proved Benfica's undoing domestically last season, forcing them into Europa League qualifiers, where they defeated St Gallen 6-2, Hearts 7-2 and AGF 6-2 on aggregate.
Benfica come into this clash on a five-game winning streak in the league, including a most-recent 3-1 dispatch of Gil Vicente, with Pavlidis netting his third brace of the season.
Benfica Team News
As mentioned, Pavlidis already has 14 goals this season and will be looking to add to his six goals from Europa League qualifying here.
Young Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni has three goals and an assist in his last three games and will also be one to watch for Benfica.
Alexander Bah remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Socceroos captain Alessandro Circati has only managed 28 minutes since arriving from Parma in the summer and will likely have to be content with a spot on the bench again here.
Benfica Possible Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Samuel Soares; Daniel Banjaqui, Tomás Araújo, Clement Lenglet, Samuel Dahl; Fredrik Aursnes, João Palhinha; Rafa Silva, Gianluca Prestianni, Andreas Schjelderup; Vangelis Pavlidis
Verdict
Both teams are backed to score in an entertaining draw, with Pavlidis continuing his red-hot form.
BTTS - Yes
Both Teams To Score
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