Only eight teams are left in this year's UEFA Europa League, three of which are from the Serie A. how will they fair in their respective Europa League quarter-finals?
AC Milan vs AS Roma
AC Milan will host AS Roma at the San Siro in the first leg of the all-Italian tie; the two sides will certainly be familiar with each other heading into their third meeting of the season, the two prior going in favour of the Rossoneri, first by winning 2-1 in the capital despite going down to 10 men, and more recently back home winning 3-1 in comfortable style in January, so Roma will return to the San Siro with a point to prove.
Both teams have had relatively successful league seasons so far, with AC Milan sitting in second place and looking to be on their way back to securing a top-four spot and returning to the Champions League next season.
AS Roma has begun to pick up momentum and improve their season since the appointment of Giallorossi legend Danielle De Rossi as manager. This has seen them pick up many back-to-back wins, which sees them currently sit 5th in the league table; this run of fixtures includes the last round of the Europa League, where they pulled off a thorough 4-0 win over Brighton in the first leg, which ultimately sealed their place in the upcoming quarter-final.
This is a matchup between two giants of Italian football and two sides that know each other far too well; having already met twice this season, this 3rd and 4th encounter will be just as fiery, with De Rossi's Giallorossi wanting to prove a point having lost the two league meetings, however, they will have the daunting task of starting this tie at the iconic but daunting San Siro; however, this may be in Roma's favour as when the second leg heads to Rome the Stadio Olympico may become a fortress and could foil Ac Milan's European journey.
Liverpool vs Atalanta BC
Liverpool will host Atalanta in the first round of this respective tie. While Liverpool will certainly be heavy favourites against Atalanta, the side from Lombardy will go to Anfield full of confidence, having dispatched an equally tough opponent in Sporting in the previous round.
Liverpool will be determined to go all the way in the Europa League this season and, having won the league cup already, will be determined to add to the trophy cabinet, especially in what is Jurgen Klopp's farewell season; however, will be able to battle on two fronts, as they are currently 2nd in the Premier League and are in a close title race with Man City and Arsenal or will the pressure be too much a could we see Liverpool falter on one of the two fronts they have left to play for during the remainder of the season.
On the other hand, Atalanta has probably had a better season than they had hoped for and have beaten some strong teams along the way, including knocking out fellow Italian side AC Milan in the Coppa Italia, and whilst they are 6th and close to achieving a Europa League place they will want to prove themselves by achieving potential European glory as realistically winning this competition will make a return to the Champions League more likely as in the Serie A they currently sit 7 points behind a strong Bologna side however with them also being in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, Atalanta may have too much to handle.
Whilst many may see Liverpool automatically in the semi-finals, Atalanta is a much better side than their league position makes them out to be. If they can survive the gauntlet of Anfield, Atalanta will be able to make the Gewiss uncomfortable, giving them the best chance of going through to the next round.
Whilst there are no guarantees that any of the three Italian sides will reach the final, at least one will be in the competition's semi-finals. They have all battled fiercely to get where they are now, and depending on who makes it to the semi-finals, all three should be given their fair shout to succeed and bring home European glory.
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