Europa League, Round of 16 second leg, Thursday, 14.03.2024
What better opportunity to redeem the Intertops free bet than with my promising Slavia Prague AC Milan bet? After all, I had already been right with my prediction in the first leg!
One week later, however, I choose another Intertops sports bet from the range of the provider of the same name, as the circumstances are completely different this time…
Caution, dear AC fans! Because your boys are not out of the woods yet. I don’t believe they’ll be eliminated, but the Czechs will know how to defend themselves better at home than even the bookmakers are currently assuming.
But why can the Italians still be ruled out of Thursday’s second leg of the Europa League round of 16 2023/24?
If the Rossoneri were leading by at least two goals after the first match in a two-legged knockout round of the UEFA Cup/Europa League, they were eliminated in the second leg on only one of the last 15 occasions.
If you want to be precise, the exception is the two matches against Girondins Bordeaux in the quarter-finals of the 1995/96 season (2-0 in the first leg, 0-3 in the second leg).
Nonetheless, you shouldn’t make the mistake of relying solely on data that makes Italy’s progress seem inevitable.
Especially as there are good reasons to expect the Czechs to make a comeback on the same basis. After all, did you know that Slavia Prague have already beaten one notable Italian opponent at home in the Europa League this season?
Watch out: In the EL group stage, Prague defeated the strong Roma 2:0. They have also won more home games against teams from no other country in European competitions than against Italian teams (4 wins, 2 draws, 2 defeats).
However, defending this 4:2 from a week ago will be difficult! Not only because Prague believe they have a chance, but also because AC usually have problems holding their own in Eastern Europe.
Milan have only won two of their six European Cup away matches in the Czech Republic. However, both victories came in the capital, against Sparta Prague – both in the 1972/73 European Cup Winners’ Cup and in the 2020/21 Europa League.
I would also like to remind you of the last round, when Milan faced Rennes.
Here, too, Milan won the first leg at home with a relatively confident 3:0, but then had to put up with a lot from the Bretons away from home (2:3).
It is therefore likely to be a rollercoaster of emotions on Thursday, in which I can well imagine that the home side could even score the first goal of the game.
At Betano sports betting, it is possible to bet on exactly this scenario, which currently promises great odds of around 2.15 if successful.
There should be between three and six goals scored on Thursday and Milan have a very specific player in their ranks who simply cannot be left out when naming possible candidates for a goal bet.
Olivier Giroud has scored 15 goals in 22 UEFA Europa League appearances, including one against Slavia Prague in their last meeting.
Should he score in this match, the 37-year-old would even become the oldest player ever to score in both matches of a two-part knockout round of this competition
I’m taking a very conservative approach in this Slavia Prague AC Milan betting tip, but there are plenty of opportunities to spice up your potential winnings with reasonable additional conditions.
In this context, I can think of two betting options that I would definitely recommend and even offer odds that are high enough to place as single bets:
My first recommendation concerns the prospect of a DC-1X option at odds of 1.65, because Prague are usually capable of significant improvements in performance at home.
The other recommendation, on the other hand, is to risk an over-2.5-goal bet, even if there is certainly room for improvement after the already very entertaining first leg!
Conclusion: I really don’t want to rule anything out in this match, except that Milan will celebrate a relaxed 2-0 or 3-0 victory.
In fact, I expect the Czechs to start this second leg like a tarantula and could score the first goal of the game within the first half.
After all, Roma know only too well how dominant Slavia can be in their own stadium…
My Slavia Prague AC Milan tip: Both will score
