Napoli’s domestic campaign is in need of improving soon to secure one spot in continental competition. They are still sitting on the sixth and aiming for one place in Champions League, which should be doable as they only have three points margin to Roma on the fourth but still have one game in hand. This weekend, unfortunately, Gennaro Gattusso will have to face off his former club, AC Milan, which are striving to entail Inter Milan in a title race.
The teams’ previous matches
Rossonerri has just proven their solidity in Europa League last Friday when they managed to hold Manchester United in a 1-1 draw. Despite conceding first by Amado Diallo’s maiden goal, they remained calm and could find the equaliser through Simon Kjaer’s header.
Il Partenopei, on the other hand, sealed a 3-1 win against Bologna last weekend. Lorenzo Insigne scored a brace plus one goal by the Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen. The visitors only replied once through Roberto Soriano.
Possible tactic
Stefano Pioli might be deploying 4-3-3 again here since Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ante Rebic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ismael Bennacer, Theo Hernandez and Mario Madzukic are all still sidelined. The front three will be occupied by Rafael Leao, Rade Krunic and Samuel Castillejo while in the midfield, Frank Kessie will be the anchor of their attack supported by Sandro Tonali and Brahim Diaz.
Gennaro Gatusso is likely to opt for 4-2-3-1 here. Victor Osimhen is featuring as the targetman while Piotr Zielinski is operating behind him. On both flanks, il capitano Lorenzo Insigne and Hirving Lozano will be playing out wide. Only Andrea Petagna and Faiz Ghoulam are ruled out for this fixture.
Players to watch
With such limited key figures on the pitch, Milan will be relying more on Frank Kessie who has notched up nine goals and two assists, the versatile Davide Calabria and the Portuguese youngster, Rafael Leao with five goals and assists each.
Lorenzo Insigne is still the club’s top performer. He has netted 13 times and provided four assists. Some other notable names in the squad are the Mexican international Hirving Lozano registering nine goals and two assists, the former Inter Milan man, Matteo Politano who has contributed seven goals and three assists and the Polish midfielder, Piotr Zielinski.
Milan vs Napoli Prediction
Stefano Pioli’s men might have a fatigue issue after having Europa League fixtures in the midweek. With such limited names in the squad plus Napoli’s longer rest, the visitors will have more advantage. This could be crucial for both sides. Yet, Simon Kjaer and Co might have to share spoils here.
Betting odds
The clash is meant to be intense and tight. AC Milan’s odds to win are at 30/17, whereas Gattusso’s side is backed to win at 13/7. The odds for the draw result are at the value of 12/5.
