AC Milan players will start the fight for round 16 of the Europa League at home against Rennes. The Rossoneri are considered one of the main favorites for the trophy, however, they do not have as successful a record in this competition as in the case of the Champions League. Starting at 11 PM EAT, three more playoff matches will be played, when Benfica will welcome Toulouse, Braga will play host to Qarabag, and Lance will face Freiburg.##EDITORS_CHOICE##A big club of Milan’s stature should aim to win the entire competition, yet it is not entirely clear how Pioli’s squad will approach that task. Stefano Pioli has already made it known that he would like to win the Europa League, but at the same time it is true that the fight for the scudetto is not yet a definitive thing and that it is still the main priority for the Rossoneri.”There are very good teams in this competition. We have to be ambitious and not look too far ahead. The next round will be decided in a week and we have a crucial game ahead of us. We will start again from the disappointment in Newcastle and we want to transfer all the energy to the Europa League. We know we have to play the best in Europe and that’s what we want to do on Thursday night,” coach Stefano Pioli said.A growing rivalry – Roma in the cauldron of RotterdamMilan did not play in the Champions League this year as expected and finished only third in the ‘group of death’. At the same time, they narrowly missed making it to round 16. The Rossoneri will play in the Europa League for the first time since March 2021 – back then, they were unsuccessful against Manchester United in round 16. Milan reached the semi-finals of the most prestigious club competition last year and are a force to be reckoned with in the former UEFA Cup.The Italians were buoyed by a narrow win over champions Napoli at the weekend and are in relatively good form after the new year. They have already closed the gap on second-placed Juventus to one point.📰 The probable starting XIs for #MilanRennes, according to @Gazzetta_it 🤔 Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/vh8RjgV51q— SempreMilan (@SempreMilanCom) February 15, 2024 Rennes travel to the San Siro in good form and are on a five-match winning streak in Ligue 1. At the weekend, Les Rouge et Noirs beat Le Havre to jump to seventh in the table – making European competitions next year not such a distant goal. Rennes finished second behind winners Villarreal in their Europa League group, losing both games against the Yellow Submarine.Le calme avant la tempête… 🌪#Roazhoneri pic.twitter.com/j8Jgi58QIo— Stade Rennais F.C. (@staderennais) February 15, 2024 UEFA EUROPA LEAGUEPlayoff roundThursday the 15th20:45: (2.00) Feyenoord (3.50) Roma (4.10)20:45: (4.00) Young Boys (3.60) Sporting (2.00)20:45: (1.80) Galatasaray (3.70) Sparta Praha (5.00)20:45: (3.40) Shakhtar (3.50) Olympique Marseille (2.25)23:00: (1.65) AC Milan (4.00) Rennes (6.00)23:00: (2.00) Lens (3.50) Freiburg (4.10)23:00: (1.40) Benfica (5.00) Toulouse (9.00)23:00: (1.37) Braga (5.20) Qarabag (10.0)***odds are subject to change***
