Against the ex-club: Giménez wants to succeed with Milan at the De Kuip

In the past, it was a very clear transfer strategy of FC Bayern to sign the best players of their direct competitors in order to weaken them at the same time. The red-and-black cult club from Milan also made such a move in the winter. The 19-time Italian champions signed the best scorer by far of their playoff opponent in the Champions League. Logically, the Santiago Giménez issue hangs over the AC Milan vs. Feyenoord tip for the first leg on Wednesday evening.

The reunion of the Mexican with his old colleagues, with whom he was still on the field together about a fortnight ago, naturally makes this duel particularly explosive. It is also exciting that the home side will be able to play a knockout game in Europe’s most important club competition for the first time in 40 years. The anticipation in Rotterdam is huge, although the disadvantage in terms of experience could possibly have a negative impact on the Feyenoord v AC Milan.

The bookmakers that offer sports betting with PayPal are suggesting the same odds before the first leg of Feyenoord vs. AC Milan, even putting the guest from Lombardy in the role of favorites. The maximum odds for an away win are 2.30 and are offered by Merkur Bets. One of the reasons for the positive rating of Merkur Bets is that you can bet tax-free with the aforementioned provider. In addition, as a new customer, you have the opportunity to claim a €40 freebet and a 100% cashback bonus of up to €60.

Feyenoord vs. AC Milan prediction AI

The artificial intelligence sees the first leg between Feyenoord Rotterdam and AC Milan as completely even. This is underlined by xG values of 1.45 to 1.46. Since the predicted probabilities of victory do not really differ, according to the AI lady “BETSiE” the value is in the odds on the home success. Even the high 2.25 on the two-way market, where a draw results in a cashback, is easily an attractive Feyenoord vs. AC Milan AI prediction.

Feyenoord – statistics & current form

Basically, anyone who forces FC Bayern home with 3-0 and still scores at Manchester City after trailing 3-0 doesn’t need to hide in the UEFA Champions League playoffs. To a certain extent, however, the two most impressive results of Feyenoord’s league phase have to be put into perspective, because in the clear home win against the Bundesliga leaders, the hosts benefited from Munich’s profusion of chances. The 3-3 draw in Manchester should also not be overrated in view of City’s catastrophic period of weakness in late fall.

In eight Feyenoord CL preliminary round matches, 39 goals were scored

Nevertheless, 19th place in the final ranking is an encouraging success for the Rotterdam team, who last played in the most important European knockout competition in 1984/85. For the team of coach Brian Priske, it will be important to show a different face at the premiere after 40 years than in the 6-1 defeat on the last match day in Lille. As a reminder: if “De club aan de Maas” had won in France, they could have possibly even made it into the top eight.

Generally, the Red & Whites’ CL matches regularly provided entertainment. Only in the encounters involving FC Barcelona were more goals scored (41) than in the Feyenoord matches (39). On average, there were almost five goals per game. In seven out of eight cases, the over 3.5 would have passed. Both teams scored in six of the matches. From a statistical point of view, the odds for at least three goals in the game or “both teams to score” on the betting slip should definitely be taken into account between Feyenoord and AC Milan.

However, the chances of progressing are lower than for their opponents, because with only one win from their last five league games (4th place in the Eredivisie) and five defeats in the past nine competitive games, “De club van het volk” cannot attest to good form. In the course of the five defeats, a whopping 15 goals were conceded. The 21 goals conceded in the CL league phase also corresponds to the weakest value of all teams from the top 24.

Provisional line-up of Feyenoord:

AC Milan – Statistics & current form

While the Rossoneri are lagging quite a bit behind their own expectations in Serie A and, as they currently sit in seventh place, five points behind the fifth-placed team, they have more than just to fear for their renewed participation in the premier class. However, the unnecessary away defeat at Dinamo Zagreb on the final matchday remains a small blotch on the copybook, especially as a win in the Croatian capital would have been enough to see them through to the last 16 as one of the top eight teams.

Will Giménez of all people lead Milan to victory in Rotterdam?

As a result, the Lombards have to go through the playoffs despite a strong record of five wins, including against Real Madrid (3-1). In the playoffs, however, they are favored in the match-up between Feyenoord and AC Milan, according to betting odds. In the NEO.bet app, for example, only 1.41 is offered that “Il Diavolo” will make it to the last 16.

In addition to the quality advantage over the Dutch, which is even more pronounced due to the winter signings of João Félix, Santiago Giménez and Kyle Walker, the advantage in experience also tips the scales in favor of the Italians. That being said, the Red and Blacks have performed significantly better under the stewardship of coach Sergio Conceicao than they did previously under Paulo Fonseca. In 11 competitive matches with the former Porto coach on the sidelines, there have been seven wins, two draws and only two defeats. At the weekend, there was a deserved 2-0 win at Empoli, preceded by a 3-1 home win in the cup against Roma.

Ultimately, there are enough factors that justify a prediction of a guest win in the first leg of Feyenoord against AC Milan. Meanwhile, anyone looking for even more of a risk in terms of odds for this game should bet on Giménez scoring against his former club. The Mexican marked his debut with his first goal after coming off the bench at the weekend. The 23-year-old has scored five goals in five Champions League appearances for Feyenoord. The attacker has thus scored every 59 minutes for the team he will suddenly face in the opposing colors on Wednesday evening at De Kuip.

Predicted line-up for AC Milan:

Feyenoord – AC Milan head to head / H2H record

This will only be the third time that the clubs have faced each other in an international competitive game. The only two previous encounters were in the 1969/70 season and both saw home successes, but these are completely irrelevant for the upcoming clash. More interesting is the fact that Feyenoord have only lost one of their last 11 European home games against Italian teams (6-4-1), while Milan have not won any of their last four European away games in the Netherlands (0-3-1). It is quite possible that this losing streak will end on Wednesday.

Feyenoord – AC Milan Tip

On paper, the Rossoneri are favorites against Feyenoord Rotterdam in the playoffs. This assessment is quite understandable, because on the one hand, the Milanese have developed positively under Conceicao and have recently attracted attention with good results. On the other hand, the guests from the Italian fashion capital also have more experience and a higher level of individual quality. With the latest signings of Walker, Joao Felix and Giménez, the Red and Blacks also want to attack internationally. For the latter player, the match against his former club is of course something special.

In view of the factors already mentioned and the fact that the hosts have not actually had a good season so far and have been able to rely on luck in the premier class, I recommend betting on the away win between Feyenoord and AC Milan. This is quoted at 2.30 by Merkur Bets at the top of the list. My stake is five out of a possible ten notional units.