Napoli-Milan is a Serie A Week 28 match played on Sunday at 20:45: odds, predictions, TV and streaming
The spotlight, in this day of the championship, can only be pointed at the Sunday postponement of the “Maradona”. Napoli and AC Milan face each other in what looks set to be a tasty appetiser to the juicy Champions League double-header, with a prestigious continental semi-final up for grabs.
A round ago the Azzurri and Rossoneri were direct contenders for the title and often alternated at the top of the table. One round later, however, they are fighting for different goals. And the merit is mainly due to the Neapolitans, protagonists of a memorable ride that in all likelihood – by now no one is even at the foot of Vesuvius, with the entire city already decked out in festivities – will end with the conquest of the coveted Scudetto. A tricolour that Luciano Spalletti and his men should snatch right from the jersey of defending champions Milan, now fully involved in the fierce fight for a Champions League place. Stefano Pioli’s team, if we exclude the passage of the round with Tottenham in the main European competition, in the championship is suddenly back to being the one of January, when in the midst of many defeats it brought home only one point from the away match in Lecce. In the last three days, in fact, Milan drew 1-1 at the San Siro with Salernitana and lost badly in Florence and Udine.
Napoli, a home win with AC Milan has been missing since 2018
A series of unsatisfactory results – with Udinese came the seventh defeat – that the Rossoneri are paying dearly for in the standings: they are now fourth, -4 from Lazio and -2 from their Inter cousins but with Roma and Atalanta breathing down their necks.
Leao
Situation that could become even more complicated if Juventus, today only seventh, were to be given back the 15 penalty points due to the capital gains case. On the other hand, the mood is sky-high at home to Napoli, and it would be strange the opposite in light of their 19-point lead over second place. The Azzurri are a real war machine: the last team to pay the price for their fury was Torino, outclassed 4-0 at home. Since the defeat to Lazio – their third of the season – Napoli have achieved three consecutive resounding successes between the league and the Champions League, scoring a total of nine goals between Atalanta, Eintracht Frankfurt and Torino, and conceding none. However, the festive mood was spoilt by the news of the injury to Azzurri goal scorer Osimhen, who returned from his national team commitments: the Nigerian striker will certainly miss the next two matches against AC Milan and Lecce. Taking a look at the record, it turns out that Napoli have not beaten AC Milan at the ‘Maradona’ since as far back as August 2018.
Napoli-Milan: latest line-up news
Distracting injury to the left adductor: that’s the verdict of the exams on Osimhen’s injury, who will not be on the pitch against AC Milan. Spalletti will start Simeone in the centre of the attack: the Argentine has never disappointed when called upon, scoring the decisive goal in the first leg against the Rossoneri at the San Siro. Elmas is looking for a place in midfield, but the Macedonian is only expected to come on in the second half, while there is a tight ballot on the left flank between Mario Rui and Olivera.
Without the injured Kalulu, Pioli ponders a return to a four-man defence, with Tomori and Thiaw in central midfield and Calabria and Hernandez on the flanks. Bennacer and Tonali will pair up again in the midfield while Diaz, Krunic and Leao will support Giroud in the back three. Ibrahimovic is out again, struggling with a muscle problem.
The prediction
No matter what the two coaches say, both Spalletti and Pioli will take the opportunity to rehearse for the Champions League clash. As the odds also indicate, there is a clear favourite. But without Osimhen, it is also true that Napoli lose a lot in the offensive phase. And then there is the unknown factor: in January, when returning from the World Cup break, the Azzurri suffered their first defeat against Inter. In our opinion, there could be a reaction of pride from the Rossoneri, who will give Spalletti’s ‘perfect machine’ a hard time. Those who want to forget the result can bet on goals: Napoli might struggle to keep their goal unbroken this time.
Napoli-Milan’s likely lineup
- NAPOLI (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Olivera; Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Lozano, Simeone, Kvaratskhelia.
- MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Calabria, Thiaw, Tomori, Hernandez; Tonali, Bennacer; Brahim Diaz, Krunic, Leao; Giroud.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
