Milan eyeing Europa League glory with Pioli's future in the balance

Stefano Pioli's future at AC Milan is uncertain as the seven-time European champions prepare for Thursday's first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal with Roma.

Never in the fight for the Serie A title and dumped out of the Champions League at the group stage, the last-eight Italian derby will be the biggest two matches of Milan's season so far.

They will also be crucial to Pioli's chances of staying in the Milan dugout as the 58-year-old has been more under fire this term than at any other point since the troubled early months of his tenure back in 2019.

Pioli was expected to be replaced by Ralf Rangnick in the summer of 2020, but a sudden burst of hot form when that season restarted in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and very public outrage from directors Zvonimir Boban and Paolo Maldini about how the talks with Rangnick were handled kept him in place.

Keeping him turned out to be a winning move as Pioli brought Milan the Serie A crown two years later, but Pioli is now out of favour with fans for not keeping up with Napoli last season nor with Inter this term.

A run of five straight Milan derby defeats has not helped, neither has the prospect of officially conceding this year's Scudetto to Inter in the next clash with their local rivals later this month.

Also exacerbating the situation is the feeling that Milan have been overtaken by Inter on the continent since Pioli dragged them back to the top table after years in the doldrums.

But a deep run in the Europa League, a competition Milan have never won neither in its current guise nor as the old Uefa Cup, would give Milan extra reason to be happy with the final weeks of a largely disappointing season.

Seven straight wins in all competitions have taken Milan to the