Slavia Prague - AC Milan predictions and free betting tips [14/03/2024]

On Thursday, 14 March, in the 1/8 final of the Europa League, Prague's Slavia will host Milan on their home ground. The match at San Siro left the "Rossoneri" with an advantage (4:2), but the hosts are unlikely to go down without a fight on their home pitch.

Slavia

Prague's "Slavia" was clearly not at their best in the first match at San Siro, suffering a fiasco with a 4:2 scoreline. However, despite being down to ten men in the first half, they didn't look like pushovers and gave the "Rossoneri" a hard time, scoring twice. In the autumn, the red and whites topped their Europa League group, outperforming "Roma", "Servette", and "Sheriff" from Tiraspol, while in the national championship, the hosts are fighting for the title and are only one point behind the capital's "Sparta", despite a 0:0 draw with them 10 days ago. Last Sunday, "Slavia" delighted fans with a crushing victory over "Teplice" (4:0). It's worth noting that "Slavia" failed to win any of the previous four home matches in the European cup playoffs, scoring only one goal in the process.

Despite this, the hosts have reached the quarter-finals of continental competitions three times in the last six seasons. Left-back El-Hadji Malik Diouf will be suspended after being sent off at San Siro - he will be replaced by Jan Boril. Key midfielders Zafeiris and Shevchik, first-choice goalkeeper Kolar, and more sporadic Peh and Sinian remain in the infirmary where they were recently joined by playmaker Provod. Up-and-coming talent Matej Yurasek (6 goals this season), who scored twice in the championship last Sunday, is available to take the field, as is experienced Valleem (4 goals) who appeared as a sub in the first match. The team's main striking power in attack is forward Chitil (15 goals), with assistance on the flank from Yurecka (11 goals in the league).

Milan

Last Thursday, in front of their fans, "Milan" secured a 4:2 victory, aided by a numerical advantage for an hour of play. However, the Italians should beware of repeating the mistakes made in the previous round when they lost 3:2 to "Rennes" in Brittany after a 3:0 victory in the first match. In general, the "Rossoneri" have been performing poorly in recent weeks: they lost to "Monza" in the league (4:2) and then drew with "Atalanta" (1:1). After this, the Lombards managed to defeat "Lazio" (0:1), again thanks to a numerical advantage, and then achieved a hard-fought victory over "Empoli" (1:0) last weekend. In the Serie A standings, Stefano Pioli's men are in third place, one point behind second-placed "Juventus". However, the title remains beyond their reach: leading "Inter" have a 16-point advantage.

In the last seven away matches in European competitions, the Milanese have only won once, and the team's best results in the UEFA Cup/Europa League were semi-final exits in 1972 and 2002. Among the players unavailable for Thursday's match due to injury are Caldara, Jimenez and Shimic; midfielder Pobega is also recovering in the infirmary. Portuguese winger Leao, who was sent off against "Empoli" last Sunday, failed to make an impression in the first match, unlike seasoned Olivier Giroud (12 goals and 8 assists) and American Pulisic (8 goals and 6 assists). In the midfield Loftus-Cheek, Reinders, Adli, and Bennacer all hope to be in the starting line-up. Theo Hernandez will take on the left flank of the defence, with Mike Maignan anchoring the visitors' goal.

Head-to-Head

In the first match, "Milan" secured a comfortable 4:2 victory.

Prediction for the Slavia - Milan match

With the support of their fans, "Slavia" can pose problems for "Milan", who have been experiencing some difficulties in recent weeks. Even after seeing a red card at San Siro, the red and whites looked quite solid, and they rarely slip up at home (for example, Roma lost here in the autumn). The current score in the tie suits Stefano Pioli's charges, and the visitors will certainly not force the pace on the pitch. We confidently back a double chance for the Prague side this Thursday.