European football returns this week and on Thursday the 18th of February we have the round of 32 in the UEFA Europa League to enjoy.
One of the early games to be played is the first leg of the tie between FK Crvena Zvezda and AC Milan. The match will be played at the Stadion Rajko Mitić.
FK Crvena Zvezda qualified for this stage of the competition by finishing in second place in Group L. Having started the campaign with a 2-0 defeat at 1899 Hoffenheim, FK Crvena Zvezda thrashed Slovan Liberec at home before securing a narrow 2-1 home win over Gent. FK Crvena Zvezda then travelled to Belgium and recorded a good 2-0 win which set them on their way to securing second place in the group.
The final two fixtures saw a 0-0 draw at home with group winners 1899 Hoffenheim and the same result away from home, against Slovan Liberec. Therefore, FK Crvena Zvezda went undefeated in 5 of their 6 Europa League group games this season.
Trends show FK Crvena Zvezda have succeeded in keeping a clean sheet in their most recent 3 Europa League games. They are undefeated in their last 5 home Europa League matches and have lost only one of their 12 most recent home fixtures in the competition.
FK Crvena Zvezda come into the match sitting top of their domestic League, 9 points clear of the second place team.
AC Milan travel to Belgrade having lost 2-0 at Spezia in the Italian Serie A on the weekend. It was a blow to their title chances as the defeat allowed rivals Inter Milan to move above them in the table but there is still plenty of the season remaining in Italy.
AC Milan were drawn in Group H of the Europa League along with Lille, Sparta Prague and Celtic. The Italian giants started their campaign with a 3-1 victory in Glasgow against Celtic before defeating Sparta Prague 3-0 at the San Siro.
The first dropped points came at home courtesy of a shock 3-0 defeat at the hands of Lille but AC Milan recovered to take a point in the reverse fixture in France.
The final two group games both ended in victory with wins coming at home against Celtic and away at Sparta Prague.
Trends show AC Milan have not been beaten in 8 of their 9 most recent matches in Europa League.
Team news and FK Crvena Zvezda should be close to full strength for this game. Italian striker Diego Falcinelli should start against his home country club.
AC Milan may choose to rotate players for this match. Mario Mandzukic, Fikayo Tomori, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alessio Romagnoli, Davide Calabria, Sandro Tonali, Franck Kessie, Rafael Leao, and Samuel Castillejo could all start.
This has the makings of being a tough night away from home for AC Milan but even having made several changes they should have enough to win the game. A clean sheet is not out of the question for the visitors.
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