Set for a glamour tie that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, Bournemouth will welcome Italian giants AC Milan to England's south coast on Thursday. 

With a perfect Europa League record so far, the European rookies sit three points above the seven-time continental champions.

Match preview

The first UEFA tie of Bournemouth's 127-year history saw the Dorset side head to San Sebastian on matchday one, and they celebrated the occasion with a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.

That set the stage for their first-ever home game in European competition - last week's 3-0 defeat of Austrian champions Sturm Graz.

Evanilson, Rayan and Alvaro Rodriguez were all on the scoresheet as Marco Rose's men moved onto a maximum six points, putting them on track for a place in the knockout rounds.

Having made such a fine start, Bournemouth could now become the first English team to win their first three major European matches since Sunderland way back in 1973-74.

Also competing alongside them in this season's Europa League, the Cherries beat the 10-man Black Cats last weekend, moving out of the Premier League drop zone. 

After setting up Marcus Tavernier's headed opener at the Vitality Stadium, Evanilson struck again, netting his 100th career goal as Rose finally claimed a top-flight win.

Now, Bournemouth will finish a run of three home games in the space of eight days with Thursday's match against Milan: the pair have only met once before - the Italian side won a 2016 friendly 2-1. 

Now leading one of Italy's top clubs, Ruben Amorim will return to England in midweek, having lost none of six previous away games in the Europa League's group phase. 

However, he failed to beat Bournemouth in all three attempts as Manchester United manager, most recently overseeing a chaotic 4-4 draw.

After losing to another former club on matchday one - 2-0 at home to Benfica - Milan's head coach bounced back in style last week, as his team strolled to a 4-0 win in Salzburg.

Rather than his big-name boss, rising star Alphadjo Cisse grabbed all the headlines by netting a 'tripletta perfetta' - one goal each with both feet, plus another with his head.

Defeat to Benfica remains Amorim's lone loss since taking charge, and he is the first Milan manager since 1963 to go unbeaten through his first seven top-flight games. 

Now sitting fourth in Serie A, the Rossoneri have claimed 15 points so far, after beating local rivals Atalanta on Sunday: having stormed into a three-goal lead, the hosts then had to cling on for a 3-2 win at San Siro.

Bournemouth Europa League form:

Bournemouth form (all competitions):

AC Milan Europa League form:

AC Milan form (all competitions):

Team News

With four games still to play in October - culminating with the Derby della Madonnina against Inter - Amorim is set to rotate his Milan squad again. 

Teenage striker Francesco Camarda deputised for Ramos in Austria, and Cisse hit a hat-trick, while English trio Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Omari Hutchinson and Fikayo Tomori all made rare starts.

Tipped to earn his first senior Italy cap next month, Cisse must vie with Hutchinson, Loftus-Cheek, Diego Moreira and Christian Pulisic for selection in the final third.

With the points already safe, Filippo Terracciano was senselessly sent off on matchday two, so he must serve a suspension; Matteo Gabbia and Alexis Saelemaekers are both sidelined by injury.

Bournemouth are still without England midfielder Alex Scott, who is on the road to recovery from a thigh injury; Julian Araujo and Eli Junior Kroupi are also unavailable. 

Having been omitted from the Cherries' initial Europa League squad, Ben Gannon-Doak was brought in after Kroupi's ankle injury and is now a contender to start.

After scoring against Sturm Graz as a substitute, Rayan can try to become just the eighth man to score in an English club's first three European matches - the most recent was Brazil teammate Joao Pedro.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Silva, Truffert; Adams, Christie; Tavernier, Kluivert, Gannon-Doak; Evanilson

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Tomori, De Winter, Pavlovic; Chukwueze, Musah, Rabiot, Bartesaghi; Loftus-Cheek, Cisse; Ramos

We say: Bournemouth 2-2 AC Milan 

Despite their historic status, Milan have only won two of 22 European matches in England, losing 13 times along the way.

Even though the Rossoneri are currently in good form, that trend could continue against Bournemouth, who have found some rhythm after a slow start to Rose's reign.

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