UEFA Europa League: AC Milan vs. Celtic Preview, Odds, Prediction

AC Milan and Celtic highlight Week 5 of the Europa League with their clash at San Siro stadium. Even though the guests from Scotland don’t have any chances of reaching the next stage, the history of these two continental powerhouses obliges us to make a preview of their contest. After all, they are among the most popular teams in the world, the former European champions, and clubs whose tradition is astonishing. 

Preview 

AC Milan (-300) stabilized following two poor performances at home before the international break. Back then, Rossoneri lost against Lille, 0-3, and played 2-2 against Verona. After that, Stefano Pioli’s boys defeated Napoli on the road, 1-3, played 1-1 with Lille in France, and beat Fiorentina 2-0 this Sunday at San Siro. 

These two latest events were the only ones in the past 10 that ended with under 2.5 goals. The situation is the same when Milan plays at home, with just one in the past seven contests seeing fewer than three scores. 

Milan is looking solid overall since the start of the campaign, and for the first time in a recent couple of years, look competitive a capable of winning some silverware.

Celtic (+800) has only two triumphs in the previous 10 matches, and that we haven’t seen in a few decades. We got used to seeing the Hoops demolishing their rivals, at least in the domestic competition, but that too can’t happen right now. 

The defense is very vulnerable, allowing a goal in all but one game during that span, two in 80% of the matches during that stretch. We aren’t quite sure what the problem is here, but the Scotting champs are way below the required level of play. 

Away from home, Celtics’ events are excellent for watching, with the previous five all end with four or more scores and goals on both sides.

Latest News

Zlatan Ibrahimovic won’t play due to his thigh injury, Rafael Leao as well, and Mateo Musacchio. All other guys are available.

On the other side, Griffiths, Forrest, Johnston, and Turnbull are all out. 

Head to Head Matches

Celtic didn’t beat Milan since 2007, and during that span, Rossoneri posted four wins in a row. The latest one was on October 22, in Glasgow, 1-3.

The guests reached the lead pretty fast, with Krunic and Diaz scoring in the first half. Elyonoussi decreased the gap 15 minutes before the end, but Hauge sealed Milan’s victory in the second minute of the stoppage time. 

Prediction

It is no wonder to see Milan as massive favorites following Celtic’s terrible recent matches. The Hoops are in a crisis, and Rossoneri have enough experience to use the current moment and earn themselves a valuable win that would improve their chances for the knockout stage. 

The odds on their plain victory are -300, but, to improve that, we will recommend betting on Milan’s success with a -1.5 handicap. Bookies gave significantly higher odds for that, -120. We already wrote that Celtic allows plenty of goals away from home, plus in this match, we have motivated hosts who desperately need all three points to secure the knockout phase.