Anderlecht v AC Milan: Italian giants to edge high stakes contest

20Nov 2012

Bajnokok Ligája

These are strange times for the Rossoneri: marooned in 12th place in Serie A, and with qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League not yet assured, the Italian giants are desperate for a morale boosting win at Anderlecht on Wednesday night. Sumeet Paul analyses their chances...

Wednesday night marks the latest stage of what has been a tricky season for AC Milan as the Italians travel to Anderlecht with qualification to the knock-out stages of the Champions League on the line.

With the club languishing in 12th place in Serie A, Massimiliano Allegri has faced intense criticism, and defeat to the Belgian champions could put both his tenure and the club's stay at Europe's top table in jeopardy.

The contrast in form between the two sides is stark. The Belgians are on a run of five consecutive wins in all competitions, including a 6-1 thrashing of rivals Club Brugge almost a fortnight ago. Meanwhile, Milan have just one win in five, but did show signs of improvement as they battled back from two goals down to Napoli on Saturday night.

Italian star Stephan El Shaarawy continues to lead the way for the Rossoneri, netting a brace in Naples and taking his tally for the season up to 10 goals as he tops the Serie A goal-scoring charts. The 20-year-old is rapidly becoming a favourite with the fans after a phenomenal start to the season. La Gazzetta dello Sport highlighted that the youngster has been more prolific after 13 games than Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in his two seasons at San Siro.

Milan were also boosted (if that's the right word - Ed) by the visit of Silvio Berlusconi to the training ground last Friday, with the Milan chief delivering a morale-boosting speech before overseeing the training session. However, it wasn't enough to inspire them to victory over Napoli, with Allegri lambasting the number of mistakes his side are still making.

"We have to grow up, as we still make far too many mistakes on an individual level. This is a team that must mature and learn from the errors as well as its position in the table.

"If we face this series of important and complicated games with the wrong approach, then we could be dragged to the bottom of the barrel," the Milan boss said in his post- match interview.

Any mistakes on Wednesday night could prove fatal to their chances of progression, and will up the pressure on Allegri as he strives to save his job. With Malaga having already booked their place in the last 16, second spot is still up for grabs and a Milan win would see them move four points clear of their opponents. Zenit are also in contention as they prepare for the visit of the Spaniards, with Group C looking extremely close as we reach the climax of the group stages.

In what promises to be a tense encounter, Milan are 2.62 to win, with Anderlecht 2.96. The draw is at 3.5, but having already conquered St Petersburg and with such illustrious history in the competition Milan will be doubly determined to return home with all three points. The Italians haven't failed to score in their last six games, while Anderlecht have racked up 17 goals in their last five outings. Both teams to score is a thoroughly reasonable price at 1.82.

Recommended Bets

Back Milan to win at 2.62

Back both teams to score at 1.82