Bournemouth are preparing for a glamour clash that would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago, as they welcome Italian giants AC Milan to the south coast of England on Thursday. The Premier League side have made a perfect start to their Europa League campaign, leaving them three points…...
Bournemouth are preparing for a glamour clash that would have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago, as they welcome Italian giants AC Milan to the south coast of England on Thursday.
The Premier League side have made a perfect start to their Europa League campaign, leaving them three points ahead of the seven-time European champions.
Match preview
Bournemouth made history on matchday one when they travelled to San Sebastian for the first European fixture in their 127-year history, securing a 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad.
That success paved the way for their first-ever home match in European competition, which ended in an impressive 3-0 win over Austrian champions Sturm Graz last week.
Evanilson, Rayan and Alvaro Rodriguez all found the net as Marco Rose’s side moved to a maximum of six points, strengthening their chances of progressing to the knockout rounds.
Following their impressive start, Bournemouth could become the first English side to win their opening three major European matches since Sunderland achieved the feat in the 1973-74 season.
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The Cherries are also competing in the Europa League this season and secured another important result last weekend, defeating 10-man Sunderland to move out of the Premier League relegation zone.
After setting up Marcus Tavernier’s headed opener at the Vitality Stadium, Evanilson scored again, taking his career tally to 100 goals as Rose finally secured a Premier League victory.
Bournemouth will now conclude a run of three home matches in eight days when they host Milan on Thursday. The two sides have met only once previously, with the Italian club winning a 2016 friendly 2-1.
Leading one of Italy’s biggest clubs, Ruben Amorim will return to England in midweek, having gone unbeaten in his previous six away matches in the Europa League’s group phase.
However, he failed to defeat Bournemouth in all three meetings during his time as Manchester United manager, with the most recent encounter ending in a dramatic 4-4 draw.
After suffering a 2-0 home defeat to former club Benfica on matchday one, Milan’s head coach responded emphatically last week as his side cruised to a 4-0 victory over Salzburg.
Rather than the Portuguese manager, rising star Alphadjo Cisse stole the spotlight by scoring a ‘tripletta perfetta’, finding the net with both feet and his head.
The defeat to Benfica remains Amorim’s only loss since taking charge, and he has become the first Milan manager since 1963 to remain unbeaten across his first seven top-flight matches.
Milan currently sit fourth in Serie A with 15 points after defeating local rivals Atalanta on Sunday. Having raced into a three-goal lead, the Rossoneri were forced to hold on for a narrow 3-2 victory at San Siro.
Bournemouth Europa League form:
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AC Milan Europa League form:
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AC Milan form (all competitions):
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Team News
With four matches still to play in October, culminating in the Derby della Madonnina against Inter Milan, Amorim is expected to rotate his squad once again.
Teenage striker Francesco Camarda deputised for Ramos in Austria, while Cisse scored a hat-trick. English trio Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Omari Hutchinson and Fikayo Tomori also earned rare starting opportunities.
Cisse, who is tipped to earn his first senior Italy cap next month, will compete with Hutchinson, Loftus-Cheek, Diego Moreira and Christian Pulisic for a place in the attacking positions.
Despite Milan having already secured the points against Salzburg, Filippo Terracciano received a needless red card on matchday two and will serve a suspension. Matteo Gabbia and Alexis Saelemaekers are also unavailable due to injuries.
Bournemouth remain without England midfielder Alex Scott, who is recovering from a thigh injury. Julian Araujo and Eli Junior Kroupi are also expected to miss the encounter.
Ben Gannon-Doak, who was initially excluded from Bournemouth’s Europa League squad, was subsequently added following Kroupi’s ankle injury and is now in contention to start.
After scoring as a substitute against Sturm Graz, Rayan will be hoping to become only the eighth player to score in an English club’s first three European matches. The most recent player to achieve the feat was his Brazil teammate Joao Pedro.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Silva, Truffert; Adams, Christie; Tavernier, Kluivert, Gannon-Doak; Evanilson
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Tomori, De Winter, Pavlovic; Chukwueze, Musah, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Loftus-Cheek, Cisse; Ramos
Bournemouth 2-2 AC Milan
Despite their illustrious European history, Milan have won just two of their 22 European matches in England, losing 13 times in the process.
Although the Rossoneri have been in good form recently, that record could count against them when they face Bournemouth, who have started to find their rhythm after a slow beginning to Rose’s reign.