Europa League: Milan vs. Benfica – Probable line-ups and where to watch on TV
Alphadjo Cisse and Mario Gila celebrate Milan's goal against Juventus (@seriea_en)
Milan get their 2026-27 Europa League campaign underway with a visit from Ruben Amorim’s former club Benfica, and he is expected to continue putting his trust in 19-year-old winger Alphadjo Cisse according to Wednesday morning’s reports.
The Rossoneri finished fifth in Serie A in 2025-26, missing out on Champions League qualification by one point, but are now among the pre-tournament favourites to go all the way in this season’s Europa League.
This year’s European adventure begins with a visit from Benfica, also tipped for a deep run in the competition. Marco Silva’s side have won five and drawn once in their first six matches of the Portuguese league season.
This is Milan’s first midweek commitment of the 2026-27 season, which means that Amorim is expected to make a few changes to the team that drew 2-2 with Lazio in Serie A on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Mike Maignan and defenders Koni De Winter and Strahinja Pavlovic are expected to keep their places at the back, but Sky Sport Italia suggests that Amorim could be tempted to hand a first start of the season to Filippo Terracciano on the right-hand side of the back three.
There could be changes to the midfield as well, with Luka Modric temporarily out of favour for tactical reasons and with Adrien Rabiot, Yunus Musah and Ardon Jashari available.
19-year-old Cisse is enjoying his first taste of top-flight football with Milan in 2026-27 and looks likely to keep his place on the left wing. Goncalo Ramos joined Amorim for the pre-match press conferences and is also expected to start, leaving one position open in the Rossoneri front three.
Sky predicts that it will be summer signing Omari Hutchinson, whom Amorim admitted ‘is an option’, whilst the front page of the Corriere dello Sport suggests that Christian Pulisic could be brought in for his first start of the season.
Kick-off this evening is due at 20.00 BST.
Milan (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Terracciano, De Winter, Pavlovic; Chukwueze, Musah, Jashari, Estupinan; Hutchinson, Cisse; Ramos.
Benfica (4-2-3-1): Soares; Banjaqui, Araujo, Lenglet, Dahl; Barreiro, Palhinha; Rafa Silva, Prestianni, Schjelderup; Pavlidis.
Where to watch Milan vs. Benfica
Tonight’s game will be available to watch live in the UK on TNT Sports 2 and online through HBO Max. Supporters in the USA are able to tune in via Paramount+.
Join us for all the pre-match build-up, in-game coverage and post-match reactions on the Football Italia Liveblog.
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