On Thursday the 11th of March Manchester United will be facing AC Milan of Italy in the first leg of the Europa league round of 16 fixture. Both of these teams have been predicted to go far in the competition with Man United being the most likely winners of the competition.
Both of these clubs are in very similar situations at the moment, with both teams currently second in their respective leagues (with their city rivals at the top). Also both of these teams used to be powerhouses of European game in the 2000's but have now had less taste of success. The last time AC Milan had won the Scudetto was in 2011 and the last time Man United had won the Premier League was in 2013. Since then both clubs had suffered spells of failure (with none of Sir Alex Ferguson's successors having much success and many of the AC Milan's start players leaving before the club having a financial crisis).
With the form of both of the clubs, over the last 5 games in the Serie A AC Milan have won 3 and lost 2 ( with a recent thrashing by city rivals Internazionale), they have also score 5 goals and conceded 9 in the last 5 games. In the round of 32 they got past Red Star Belgrade by away goals after the score being 3-3 on aggregate. Manchester United look to be in better form with them being unbeaten in 9 (in all competitions) and in the last 5 premier league games they have scored 16 goals and conceded 5. In the round of 32 they beat Real Sociedad 4-0 on aggregate.
The player to look out for who plays for AC Milan is the ageless Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has scored 14 goals in the Serie A from upfront (who used to play for Man United). The Manchester United player to look out for has to be Bruno Fernandes with 15 goals and 10 assists from midfield in the Premier League this season.
This tie is expected to be in Manchester United's favour but whatever the outcome the game will be entertaining. A clash of fallen giants.
