Milan Faces Bournemouth... Juventus Aims to Topple Rennes
Juventus seeks victory over Rennes, Milan hosts Bournemouth, and Bayer Leverkusen faces Omonia in the Europa League.
Translated by Qiyas from الأنباء — Original source
Both Italian side Juventus and their French guests Rennes are keen to quickly put behind them the disappointment of their recent domestic defeats as they meet in Turin in the third round of the UEFA Europa League, aiming to maintain their perfect records. Juventus suffered a 3-0 home loss to Lazio in Serie A, their second defeat in seven matches (three wins, two draws), increasing pressure on their coach, Luciano Spalletti. The Bianconieri hope that returning to European competition will provide an outlet and an opportunity to reconcile with their fans after their struggles domestically. They will build on their comeback from behind to beat Spanish hosts Celta Vigo 2-1 in the second round last Thursday, a result that kept them among the ten teams that started the Europa League group stage with an ideal record.
German side Bayer Leverkusen, runners-up in the 2024 edition, look strong to secure a third consecutive victory when they travel to face Ove, a team making a comeback to German football, following their 2-0 win over Hoffenheim in the first round. The two sides have met only once before, with Leverkusen winning 1-0 in the 1995 Intertoto Cup.
A historic night looms for English club Bournemouth as they host the Italian giant Milan, seven-time Champions League winners, at the Vitality Stadium. Bournemouth awaits an unprecedented evening as the team begins to regain its footing. Their 2-0 win over Sunderland was their first Premier League victory under German manager Marco Rose.
In contrast, Milan has started strongly under Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim (five wins, three draws, one loss). The team maintained its unbeaten league record thanks to a 3-2 victory over Atalanta. Their only defeat this season came in the first round of the Europa League against Portuguese side Benfica, 0-2. The Rossoneri responded powerfully by thrashing Austrian side Salzburg 4-0 last week.
A third consecutive win is also the target for Benfica when they travel to face Omonia, the Cypriot champions who have themselves won two consecutive matches. Other fixtures include French side Lyon hosting Hoffenheim, English club Sunderland visiting Poland's Lech Poznan, Turkish side Besiktas hosting England's Crystal Palace, Greek champions Olympiacos receiving Czech side Sparta Prague, and Hungarian club Ferencváros facing Portuguese visitors Tondela.
