Europa League preview: AC Milan vs. Ferencvaros – Team news, opposition insight, stats and prediction
AC Milan are back in front of their own fans on Thursday night, hoping to correct their European course against Ferencvaros.
Milan are buoyed by the derby win over Inter at the weekend, and yet in continental competition they have struggled so far having lost two of three. So, the pressure remains on to bounce back and start climbing the Europa League table before it is too late.
In his pre-match press conference, Ruben Amorim admitted that his side needed to find some consistency, especially after the win against Inter. Effectively, his message was that the win would mean little if it wasn’t followed with another three points.
Game date: Thursday, November 4 Kick-off time: 18:45 (CET) Venue: San Siro Referee: Urs Schnyder (VAR: Fähndrich)
Team news
As mentioned above, Milan could hardly be going into this game feeling any better after they scored three first-half goals to down their city rivals for a fourth straight time. Christian Pulisic, Adrien Rabiot and Diego Moreira scored in a 3-1 win that was well engineered by Ruben Amorim.
The Rossoneri continue to demonstrate their potential domestically, even if they remain seven points off top, but in the Europa League things haven’t gone to plan. Losses to Benfica and Bournemouth – both without scoring – either side of the rout of RB Salzburg leave them on three points from three games.
That puts Milan in 24th place in the table on goals scored, which is the final play-off spot. So, a big improvement is needed in the final five games of the league phase in order for the tag of being among the pre-tournament favourites to be justified.
Mario Gila, Rabiot and Moreira all returned to the line-up against Inter, which provided a very noticeable boost. However, there are no new recoveries in view of the match against Ferencvaros, so the depth is still limited.
Fikayo Tomori is in the treatment room after suffering a torn muscle in his right thigh, joining Matteo Gabbia, Alexis Saelemaekers and Samuel Chukwueze who also remain out. The latter may yet require surgery on a hip issue.
The other major absentee is Mike Maignan, who saw red for shoving Tyler Adams in the face during the last Europa League game against Bournemouth and will be forced to serve a one-match ban, which is less than feared.
The latest from the various media reports suggests that Amorim will field quite a youthful side, as he has done in Europe so far. This means chances should be given to Lorenzo Torriani, Sankhoun Diawara, Ardon Jashari, Davide Bartesaghi, Omari Hutchinson, Alphadjo Cisse and potentially more.
Expectations about rotation seem likely to be proven right, with the defence being almost completely changed. Without a back-up, Torriani is indeed given the nod.
Then, the backline is made of a largely rotated group. Filippo Terracciano will start at right-back, whilst Koni De Winter will partner Diawara in the middle of the back four. Bartesaghi returns at left-back.
In midfield, Hutchinson and Cisse will start on the flanks as expected, with Yunus Musah and Jashari given the nod in the middle of the park.
Despite suggestions that Camarda could start, it seems Goncalo Ramos will be given the starting role again.
Predicted Milan XI (4-4-1-1): Torriani; Terracciano, De Winter, Diawara, Bartesaghi; Hutchinson, Musah, Jashari, Cisse; Rabiot; Ramos
Predicted bench: Bouyer, Gila, Vladimirov, Modric, Pulisic, Camarda, Comotto, Pavlovic, Estupinan, Moreira,
Injuries & suspensions: Chukwueze, Gabbia, Tomori, Saelemaekers, P. Terracciano.
The opponents
Ferencvaros went into last season as defending league champions under head coach Robbie Keane, but were forced to settle for second place. They did win the domestic cup though, and got to the last-16 of the Europa League before being beaten by Braga.
Keane left before the 2026-27 campaign, and he was replaced by Balazs Borbely who came from Gyor ETO, the club that have been one of the surprise packages in recent years, even winning the Nemzeti Bajnokság I (league title) last season.
It was quite a quiet summer for the Budapest-based team, as their big splash was Veljko Birmancevic from Sparta Praha for €2m. Matus Bero and Nathan Zohore arrived on free transfers, while Adam Nagy joined for a low fee from Spezia.
There were a few more exits though: Elton Acolatse, Zsombor Gruber, Mohammed Abu Fani, Gabi Kanichowsky and Cebrail Makreckis all left for figures between €2.5m and €1m, while five departed on free transfers too.
It has been a good start for Borbely, given that Ferencvaros are undefeated in their last 20 matches across all competitions, and they are dreaming of securing direct qualification to the last-16 of the competition.
The Zöldek have three wins from three, occupying fourth place in the overall standings behind Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen and Bournemouth. To qualify for the group stage, they overcame Twente, Gornik Zabrze and Trabzonspor, beating the latter 5-0 on aggregate.
An away win against Celtic kicked off their league phase, following by victories against Viktoria Plzen and Torreense. Overall, the Hungarian outfit have scored nine times and have conceded just three in what has been a perfect start in the UEL.
Ferencvaros’ only defeat came in their league debut on July 26 (2-4 against Baksi FC). Since then, they have gone on a long unbeaten streak of five wins and five draws, climbing to third place, just two points behind league leaders Gyor and with a game in hand.
In terms of injury news, the visitors will be missing Slovakian midfielder Matus Bero, while Bence Otvos is recovering from an ACL injury and will not take part. Aside from that, they have a clean bill of health.
Borbely’s side have so far alternated between a 4-1-4-1 formation – deploying former Liverpool player Nabi Keita or Adamy Nagy (who played for Bologna and Spezia) as midfielders – and a 4-2-3-1 to offer a bit more width.
A few rotations are expected from the weekend’s game – where they cruised to a 2-0 win – and the first set comes in defence. Radnoti, Nagy, Zohore and O’Dowda are all expected to return to the starting XI, with Gomez being the only survivor to retain his place.
Maiga will find a new partner at the base of the midfield in the aforementioned Nagy, whilst Zachariassen will start ahead of them.
On the wings, it’s an unchanged set-up with leading goalscorer Zachariassen and Birmancevic starting. Then, Yusuf is expected to return to the starting XI.
Predicted Ferencvaros XI (4-2-3-1): Radnoti; O. Nagy, Zohore, Gomez, O’Dowda; Maiga, A. Nagy; Arzani, Zachariassen, Birmancevic; Yusuf.
Predicted bench: A Varga, Dibusz, Osvath, Raemaekers, Cadu, Madrasz, Corbu, Bamidele, Bero, Joseph, Levi, Arzani, Rommens, Pappoe, Z Varga, Keita.
Injuries & suspensions: Bero, Otvos.
Head to head
This will be the first ever competitive meeting between AC Milan and Ferencvaros, making it a historic encounter as a result.
Milan have played four times in history against Hungarian opponents. The first time was in the 1967-68 Cup Winners’ Cup, when the Rossoneri draw 2-2 away and 1-1 at home against ETO, which saw them progress on away goals.
The other two occasions came 15 years later in the 1982 Mitropa Cup group stage against Szombathelyi Haladas. The Diavolo won both encounters: 2-0 at San Siro, and 1-0 away from home.
Key stats and facts
➤ Alphadjo Cisse has caught the eye for Milan in Europa League play. The striker is the side’s top scorer with three goals, which is joint most in the competition, one of those having been the critical first of the match. Kristoffer Zachariassen has been the most prolific player for Ferencáros, scoring on three occasions in the current Europa League campaign, including one match-opening goal. He is tied as the competition’s top scorer in 2026/2027.
➤ AC Milan will look to build on their derby success when they welcome an unbeaten Ferencváros side to the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening. Ruben Amorim’s team have enjoyed a promising domestic campaign but struggled to replicate that form in Europe, occupying 24th place in the league-phase standings with just three points from their opening three matches. Their Hungarian opponents, meanwhile, sit fourth with a perfect nine-point return and arrive in Italy chasing a fourth consecutive European victory.
➤ The Rossoneri secured an impressive 3-1 victory over city rivals Inter Milan at the weekend, strengthening their position in the Serie A top-four race. Milan have lost just once in their opening ten league matches, recording six victories and three draws, although their continental performances have been considerably less convincing. They suffered a comprehensive 3-0 defeat away to Bournemouth on matchday three, leaving them with two losses from their opening three Europa League fixtures and only one victory in their last six European matches overall.
➤ Milan’s struggles have extended to home soil, where they lost 2-0 against Benfica in their only previous Europa League fixture at the Giuseppe Meazza this season. Another defeat would see them lose consecutive European home matches within a single campaign for the first time since 2010/11. Nevertheless, their recent attacking form offers some encouragement: five of their last six competitive matches have produced at least three goals, and Amorim’s side has scored before the 25th minute in each of their previous four home fixtures.
➤ Ferencváros, by contrast, have enjoyed an outstanding start to their European campaign, winning all three league-phase matches and scoring freely along the way. Their most recent outing produced a convincing 4-1 victory over Torreense, with Bamidele Yusuf, Mariano Gómez and Krisztián Lisztes among the scorers. Balázs Borbély’s side have now won five of their last six competitive matches, drawing the other, and have scored 18 goals while conceding just four during that sequence.
➤ The Hungarian champions are unbeaten in 20 competitive matches since late July, recording 13 victories and seven draws, while each of their last four wins has come by at least two goals. They also boast an impressive away record, having avoided defeat in their last ten competitive matches on the road and conceded no more than once in any of those fixtures. Victory in Milan would see Ferencváros win four consecutive matches in major European competition for the first time since the 1967/68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, when they recorded six successive victories on their way to the final.
➤ This will be the first competitive meeting between Milan and Ferencváros, although both clubs have limited historical experience against opposition from the other’s country. Milan’s only previous European encounters with Hungarian opponents came against Győri ETO in the 1967/68 Cup Winners’ Cup, with both matches ending level. Ferencváros, meanwhile, have failed to win any of their last four European away fixtures against Italian teams, drawing twice and losing twice, since defeating Roma in the 1965 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. With Milan seeking to revive their European campaign and the visitors determined to preserve their perfect record, both sides have considerable motivation heading into this encounter.
Ones to watch
Sankhoun Diawara has been superb so far when called upon, and he’ll replace the ever-present Strahinja Pavlovic here. A big performance would not only reassure the club of his ability (and potential), but it may offer a reason to change January plans.
It feels like a weekly occurrence now, but Goncalo Ramos needs a goal. If Francesco Camarda is not going to start here, the Portuguese needs to prove that there is reason to keep the youngster on the bench. For his sake, as much as the Italian’s.
For the visitors, Kristoffer Zachariassen is the main danger man. Contributing to 11 goals in 21 games so far this season, the 32-year-old will be essential to Ferencvaros getting anything on Thursday.
Then, Mariano Gomez will represent a difficult opponent for whoever leads the Rossoneri’s line. The Argentine defender has been excellent so far this season, and it’s entirely possible that he contributes to a frustrating night.
Prediction
Despite their rotations, Milan must win here; if they don’t, they’ll wave their Europa League top eight wishes goodbye. There’s enough quality in the starting XI to provide three points, so that will be the expectation.
Milan 3-1 Ferencvaros
