Milan v Austria Wien background

Undefeated leaders of UEFA Europa League Group D, AC Milan are on the brink of qualification for the round of 32 as they host European away-day specialists Austria Wien.

• A win will ensure the Rossoneri's safe progress, while a draw would also be enough to take them through should Rijeka fail to win away to AEK Athens in the other group fixture.

• Austria will be out if they fail to win and AEK gain victory.

Previous meetings
• The clubs' first European encounter, in Vienna on matchday one, was a one-sided affair, Milan's new signing André Silva helping himself to a hat-trick in the Italian club's 5-1 win.

• Milan have lost just one of their ten matches with Austrian opponents (W7 D2) – a 5-2 European Cup defeat at Rapid Wien in October 1957.

• Austria have won only once in 13 encounters with Serie A opposition (D5 L7), a decisive 2-1 victory against Internazionale in the UEFA Cup third round in November 1983. Their last two matches in Italy have both been drawn.

Form guide
• Milan are unbeaten in their eight European matches this season (W6 D2), keeping six clean sheets.

• The Rossoneri have not lost any of their last 17 matches in the UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League. Their only home defeat in either competition during the last 30 years came in the 2001/02 fourth round, when they went down 1-0 against Dutch club Roda JC – but concluded the evening by winning the tie on penalties.

• Austria Wien have won seven of their last ten European away games, losing just one; they have won just two of their last ten at home, losing the last three. They have won three of their four UEFA fixtures outside Vienna this season, the only exception a 2-2 draw at AEK Athens in which they conceded a 90th-minute equaliser.

• Sixth in Italy last term, Milan are back in Europe after a four-year absence and making their first appearance in the UEFA Europa League group stage. They reached the round of 32 in the last-ever UEFA Cup campaign of 2008/09.

• Last season's Austrian Bundesliga runners-up, Austria Wien have not survived their last five UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns; they reached the quarter-finals in 2004/05.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Vienna to Milan is a little over 600km.

• This is the only major UEFA competition the Rossoneri have not won. Ajax, Bayern München, Chelsea, Juventus and – as of last May – Manchester United are the only five clubs to have won the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

• Milan's Nikola Kalinić was a losing UEFA Europa League finalist with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in 2015, his side going down 3-2 to Sevilla in Warsaw.

• Austria Wien's Heiko Westermann and Milan's Hakan Çalhanoğlu were team-mates at Hamburg in 2013/14.

• Suspended for next match if booked: Manuel Locatelli (Milan).

The coaches
• In charge since June 2016, Vincenzo Montella has led Milan back into Europe for the first time since 2013/14. A Serie A winner as a striker with Roma in 2000/01, the former Italy international has since coached Fiorentina and Sampdoria.

• Austria Wien coach since 2015, Thorsten Fink won the 2001 UEFA Champions League and four German Bundesliga titles as a Bayern midfielder. He also secured back-to-back Swiss Super League championships as coach of Basel from 2009–11.