AC Milan host Benfica on Wednesday evening to open their UEFA Europa League League Stage campaigns, with both sides sitting on zero points from zero matches played in a 34-team table.
The two sides are separated by 19 places in the early standings. Benfica occupy fourth position and sit in the top third of the table, while AC Milan are placed 23rd and find themselves in the bottom third. The points gap between them currently stands at zero.
Form heading into this match tells a contrasting story. Benfica arrive having won all five of their most recent matches, accumulating 15 points from those five outings. Their run includes victories over Moreirense, Maritimo and Estoril, as well as a 1-3 win away to Aarhus, with their most recent outing a 3-1 home victory over Gil Vicente.
AC Milan, meanwhile, have drawn their last two matches — a 2-2 draw with Lazio and a 1-1 draw with Juventus — and have taken 8 points from their last five matches. Prior to those draws, they recorded back-to-back wins over Venezia and Torino, though a 2-0 defeat to Sassuolo also features in that recent run.
This is the opening fixture in the UEFA Europa League League Stage for both clubs, meaning Wednesday's result will set the tone for each side's early position in a competition that features 34 teams across the League Stage.