AC Milan vs Manchester United preview: How to watch on TV, live stream, team news & prediction

Man Utd and AC Milan are set to do battle once again
Man Utd and AC Milan are set to do battle once again / Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images
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Two European giants will do battle once again in the Europa League as AC Milan host Manchester United in their last 16 second leg on Thursday, with the tie finely poised at 1-1.

Amad Diallo got his first for United in the first leg, before Simon Kjaer equalised in added-time to get a crucial away goal for the Serie A side. United now know they must win the game or score two away goals if they're to draw to seal progression.

Since the first game the Reds earned a hard-fought victory over West Ham thanks to an own goal, but made it four consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League. Milan on the other hand weren't so fortunate, ending up the losing side against Napoli at San Siro to fall nine points behind Inter in the title race.


Where to watch

The San Siro at night time before a Europa League fixture
The San Siro will play host to this mammoth clash / Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images

When is the match? Thursday 18th March
What time is kick-off? 20:00 GMT
Where is it being played? San Siro
TV Channel: BT Sport 2 (UK), fuboTV (USA)
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
VAR: Marco Fritz (GER)


AC Milan team news

Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Could Zlatan make his return? / Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images

Both teams will look to welcome back several stars from injury this week after they missed the first leg of the tie.

Milan were without six first team players for that game but welcomed back Hakan Calhanoglu, Ante Rebic and Theo Hernandez at the weekend while Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ismael Bennacer and Alessio Romagnoli have all returned to training.

Ibrahimovic is the most likely to start of those three, although it's unlikely he'd be able to complete the full 90 minutes if he did.


Man Utd team news

David De Gea
David de Gea is available again / Di Yin//International Champions Cup/Getty Images

United are also looking to welcome back a handful of first-teamers. Paul Pogba, Donny Van de Beek and Anthony Martial all returned to training this week while Marcus Rashford was fit enough to play 90 minutes at the weekend.

David de Gea is also available again after returning from Spain and self-isolating, but it's unlikely that he starts this game ahead of Dean Henderson.


Predicted lineups

AC Milan: Donnarumma; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Hernandez; Kessie, Meite; Leao, Calhanoglu, Saelemaekers; Ibrahimovic

Manchester United: Henderson; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial


Recent form

AC Milan

Milan 0-1 Napoli (14/3)
Man Utd 1-1 Milan (11/3)
Hellas Verona 0-2 Milan (7/3)
Milan1-1 Udinese (3/3)
Roma 1-2 Milan (28/2)

Manchester United

Man Utd 1-0 West Ham (14/3)
Man Utd 1-1 Milan (11/3)
Manchester City 0-2 Man Utd (7/3)
Crystal Palace 0-0 Man Utd (3/3)
Man Utd 0-0 Chelsea (28/2)


Prediction

Man Utd players dejected as Milan celebrate
Who will be victorious on the night? / OLI SCARFF/Getty Images

A tense, high-stakes affair should prove to be entertaining for the most part in the San Siro on Thursday night.

Both teams are too far behind their local rivals in the title race to really be in the running to catch them without a collapse, so the Europa League arguably represents the biggest chance of a trophy this season.

The first leg saw Milan largely outplay Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side, but the chances of United playing that poorly again are slim. Milan are unlikely to try to sit on their first leg result so United will find some joy on the counterattack but must be clinical to punish them.

In what should be a fantastic game, the English side have got that little bit of extra quality on the pitch and they should be able to get a result that will see them progress into the quarter-finals.

Prediction: AC Milan 1-2 Manchester United