Ac Milan vs Napoli preview
Watch Ac Milan vs Napoli preview, as both clubs of same league meet on the second leg of the quarter finals of the champions league at stadio diago.
They may be set to relieve Serie A’s reigning champions of their Scudetto, leading Italy’s top flight by some 14 points with just eight games left to play, but Napoli have failed to get the better of AC Milan in recent weeks and have a deficit to overturn if they are to reach the Champions League’s final four.
Despite a typically fast start at San Siro, they were unable to take their chances in last Wednesday’s first leg, and Ismael Bennacer’s strike just before the break gave their Rossoneri rivals a slim lead ahead of this week’s return in Campania. Late on, the dubious dismissal of Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for a second bookable offence only served to cap a frustrating night for the visitors.
Having suffered a shock four-goal league loss to Milan at the beginning of April, the fabled Stadio Maradona no longer seems such an impenetrable fortress, as not only have Napoli also lost to Lazio there recently, at the weekend they failed to break down a dogged Hellas Verona side battling against relegation.
Held to a goalless home draw by the Scaligeri on Saturday, perhaps the only positive note for Luciano Spalletti’s men came when talismanic striker Victor Osimhen returned from injury as a second-half substitute – to much delight from the expectant home fans.
Even during a brief cameo, the Capocannoniere leader thumped a thunderous shot against the crossbar, but his teammates have now found the net just twice in their last four matches, which contrasts starkly with their previous output – for instance, Napoli are the Champions League’s top scorers.
Team news and Injury
Luciano Spalletti‘s hand will be forced into making at least two changes from the first leg, though a third may transform his team’s hopes of overturning their one-goal deficit.
After Kim Min-jae was booked for dissent in the closing stages at San Siro, Napoli’s defensive rock joins Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa on the sidelines due to suspension, but the return of top scorer Victor Osimhen up front will certainly compensate.
Though the Nigeria international has now fully recovered from injury, his deputy Giovanni Simeone again misses out with a thigh problem; fellow forward Giacomo Raspadori should drop out of the starting XI.
In Anguissa’s absence, either Eljif Elmas or Tanguy Ndombele will complete the hosts’ midfield trio alongside Stanislav Lobotka and Piotr Zielinski. The latter has been involved in five goals from four home Champions League appearances this season; averaging a goal involvement every 49 minutes.
Milan, meanwhile, made 10 changes to their team on Saturday, as only Mike Maignan was retained and Stefano Pioli’s second string were given an opportunity to impress.
Reverting to full strength, the visitors should be unchanged from last week’s win on home soil, with Olivier Giroud leading the line; the veteran striker has been involved in six goals from nine European outings this season – the best tally for Milan since Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2011-12.
The Swedish striker is both ineligible and injured so misses out on Tuesday, but Simon Kjaer, Sandro Tonali and Rafael Leao are among those set to feature again.
Ac Milan vs Napoli Head-to-head stats
Napoli have a good recent record against AC Milan and have won 13 of the last 33 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to AC Milan’s nine victories.
Napoli have suffered two defeats against AC Milan this month – the previous team to secure three victories against the Neapolitans in a single month was Lazio in 1995.
AC Milan’s previous away game against Napoli ended in a 4-0 victory for Stefano Pioli’s side – the Rossoneri have won three such matches against the home side for the first time in their history.
AC Milan won the first leg by a 1-0 scoreline – the last time they were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after winning the first leg was at the hands of Barcelona in the 2012-13 campaign.
Napoli are unbeaten in their last 12 home games in the UEFA Champions League, with their previous such defeat coming against Manchester City in 2017.
Ac Milan vs Napoli prediction
Napoli have been impressive over the course of their league campaign but have stuttered in recent weeks. The Neapolitans have been particularly poor against the Rossoneri and will need to make amends ahead of this match.
AC Milan have shown flashes of brilliance over the past month but were uninspiring over the weekend. Both teams have issues to address at the moment and could play out a draw in this fixture.
