AC MILAN v STADE RENNAIS: OPPONENT REVIEW

The grand European nights are back for AC Milan. The Rossoneri are gearing up for their season debut in the Europa League Knockouts with the ambition to make their mark until the end in a competition the club has never won. On Thursday, 15 February at 21:00 CET, Stefano Pioli's lads will face an extremely tough opponent in Stade Rennais, aiming for a feat after being eliminated in the last three occasions they faced a knockout phase of one of the major European competitions, against Arsenal, Leicester City, and Shakhtar Donetsk.

The club from Rennes is on a clear upward trajectory after a disappointing start to the season and come from five consecutive wins in the league: only Manchester City (six) boasts a longer winning streak in the top five European leagues. Finishing second in Group F behind Villarreal, Stade Rennais' performance has also improved in Europe, especially away from home, where they have won their last two matches (against Panathinaikos and Maccabi Haifa). However, Julien Stéphan's boys will have to contend with a poor record on Italian soil, where they have lost all three matches played in their UEFA tournament history against Juventus, Udinese, and Lazio.

STADE RENNAIS: TECHNICAL AND OFFENSIVE, LONG-RANGE SHOOTING IS THEIR STRENGTH
Stade Rennais are a team with well-established offensive mechanisms and have resumed scoring with good consistency. The third-best attack in Ligue 1 with 31 goals scored, behind PSG (51) and Monaco (40), in the Europa League, the French team ranks fourth in the number of shots attempted (93, including 33 on target), behind only Liverpool (100), AEK Athens, and Bayer Leverkusen (96 each). However, what stands out more is the data regarding long-range shots: no team has scored more goals from outside the box than Stade Rennais (five, like Maccabi Tel Aviv) in the 2023/24 European competitions, with two goals each from Blas and Rieder, and one from Truffert.

Another significant statistic in terms of their offensive prowess is their successful dribble rate of 55.2% (53 completed out of 96 attempted), second only to Marseille (59.5%) and Olympiacos (55.8%) in this Europa League. This Stade Rennais team not only relies on their technical qualities but also knows how to raise the intensity level when needed: despite attempting only 78 tackles (the fifth-worst record) in the current European campaign, the Rouge et Noirs have won 55 of them for a success rate of 71%, the highest in the tournament along with Marseille and Sturm Graz.

 TERRIER BACK AT PEAK FITNESS, WATCH OUT FOR BOURIGEAUD'S QUALITY
The full recovery of Martin Terrier has certainly been one of the brightest spots for coach Stéphan. The French forward has regained peak physical condition and has contributed to five goals in the last four matches in all competitions (four goals, one assist), after being involved in only two goals in his first 16 appearances since returning from injury in October (one goal, one assist). If he scores against AC Milan, Terrier would equal Gaëtan Laborde (five goals) as Stade Rennais' top scorer in the major European competitions, rightfully inscribing himself in the history books of the Breton club.

On the other hand, Benjamin Bourigeaud is the beacon of the team, leading Stade Rennais in total goal involvements (12, including seven goals and five assists) and is the player with the most chances created for teammates (33) this season across all competitions. Also, a notable figure in their excellent European campaign so far is a familiar face to Italian football like Arthur Theate, who played for Bologna in the 2021/22 season. The Belgian is a pivotal figure in their gameplay and is often involved in the possession phase, as evidenced by his 17 involvements in sequences of at least 10 passes ending with a shot in this Europa League, the best record among central defenders in the tournament (also 17 for Josip Stanišić of Bayer Leverkusen) and second overall among defensive players, behind only Jonathan Clauss (20).

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