Bournemouth v AC Milan: Preview, predicted line-ups & Europa League tip

Bournemouth can move to the brink of the Europa League play-off places when they host AC Milan at the Vitality Stadium on Thursday night.

The hosts have won both of their league-phase games and sit fifth on six points, with a goal difference of plus four. Milan are 16th on three points after beating Red Bull Salzburg and losing at home to Benfica.

This is the first meeting between the clubs in the competition. It is Matchday 3 of the league stage, and a third win would leave Bournemouth sitting pretty.

Bournemouth opened with a 2-1 win away to Real Sociedad on 17 September. They followed that with a 3-0 home win over Sturm Graz on 15 October. They have scored five and conceded one in two games, and recorded an average of 2.88 expected goals in those matches.

Milan lost 2-0 at home to Benfica on 16 September, failing to score. They bounced back with a 4-0 win at Salzburg on 15 October.

Neither side has a pressing league-phase reason to rest players, with both inside the top 16 or just outside it. Milan's home form is the problem: they have yet to score at San Siro this season in this competition. Away from home they have been far more fluent, with four goals in their one trip.

Bournemouth have a thin squad on paper, with seven players listed as unavailable. Expect the hosts to name a settled XI in the 4-4-2 they have used both times, with little room for experiments.

**Bournemouth: Truffert; Tavernier, Cook, Adli, Kluivert; Evanilson, Doak

The first-ever meeting between the sides kicks off at 20:00 BST on Thursday 22 October. It is shown on TNT Sports where selected, with a Yahoo Sports preview listing TNT Sports 1 as the channel. Coverage is also available to stream on discovery+.

If level after 90 minutes, there is no extra time in the league phase. The match ends as a draw.