Two of Italy’s three remaining teams in the Champions League go head-to-head in a blockbuster quarter-final tie as Milan and Napoli face each other on Wednesday. Stadio San Siro forms the backdrop for the second edition of a mouth-watering trilogy of meetings between these two Serie A heavyweights taking place this month.
Milan drew first blood a week ago, strolling to a memorable 4-0 league win at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona to set themselves up nicely for this encounter. That result seemed to be a turning point for Stefano Pioli’s side following a sub-par four-match winless run in all competitions (D2, L2), but Empoli cut their revival hopes short last Friday.
Despite boasting a 70% possession and attempting 23 shots, Milan could only manage a scoreless home draw against perennial bottom-half strugglers. In addition to failing to consolidate their stuttering pursuit of a third straight top-four finish in Serie A, that disappointment may have taken some wind out of their sails. But there’s no time to weep as Napoli come to town.
Luciano Spalletti’s men bounced back from the abovementioned H2H fiasco in Naples with a hard-fought 2-1 win at bottom-half Lecce last Friday. A comfortable 18-point cushion at the Serie A summit gives Napoli plenty of breathing room in domestic proceedings, which could benefit their stellar Champions League run.
Having qualified for the competition’s knockout stages for the first time in the club’s history, the Partenopei are now looking to go the distance and have a shot at European glory that has eluded them since their iconic 1988/89 UEFA Cup triumph. Inspired by a reverberating atmosphere in southern Italy, Napoli can dream big, especially considering the season they’re having.
Match Preview
Milan
A 1-0 aggregate triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in the opening Champions League knockout round catapulted Milan to the competition’s quarter-finals for the first time in 11 years. Given the Rossoneri have practically surrendered the Serie A crown to Napoli, they have a score to settle. Reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since their triumphant 2006/07 season looks like a perfect way to get their vengeance.
Pioli knows that securing an all-important first-leg lead is the way to go. But Milan must show the same defensive resilience that coincided with their eye-catching victory in Naples earlier in April. The reigning Serie A champions have registered four consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League and could make it five in a row for the first time since the 2004/0 campaign.
Player to Watch: Rafael Leao
Rafael Leao was the star of the show at the Maradona, notching up a brace in arguably his best performance this season. However, the Portuguese ace has only netted once in eight Champions League appearances this season. So he should have an added incentive to showcase his talents on Wednesday.
Napoli
With the league title all but in the bag, Napoli might feel like they have nothing to lose heading into this clash. Spalletti’s men have already made club history by gaining a quarter-final berth. Yet the thumping H2H loss at home suggests there’s no room for complacency, even though their jaw-dropping form on the road threatens to tuck them in a false sense of security.
Runaway Serie A leaders have won eight successive away matches in all competitions since a 1-0 defeat at Meazza to Inter in January. Before Federico Di Francesco scored for Lecce last time out, Napoli had registered seven successive away victories by 2+ goals ‘to nil,’ highlighting the level of confidence streaming through their veins. Moreover, they come into proceedings as the highest goalscorers in the Champions League this season (25).
Player to Watch: Piotr Zielinski
With Victor Osimhen on the sidelines, Napoli will need someone to step up and embrace the scoring burden on Wednesday. Though Khvicha Kvaratskhelia would be an educated guess, Piotr Zielinski stakes his claim for our ‘Player to Watch’ section as the club’s joint-best scorer in the Champions League this term.
Team News
In addition to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who likely suffered a career-ending injury earlier this month, Milan won’t be able to call upon the services of Pierre Kalulu. The Frenchman is expected to miss out with a calf problem, leaving veteran defender Simon Kjaer to tussle with prodigious Malick Thiaw for the right to partner Fikayo Tomori at the heart of Pioli’s backline.
As for Napoli, Osimhen’s absence is a massive blow for Spalletti’s side, as witnessed by that so-often-mentioned earlier showdown in Naples. The Italian manager will have to mix things up in the front third after second-string striker Giovanni Simeone picked up a thigh injury against Lecce. That could open up space for Giacomo Raspadori to finally make his return to the starting line-up.
Milan vs Napoli Potential Lineups
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Simon Kjaer, Theo Hernandez; Sandro Tonali, Rade Krunic, Ismael Bennacer; Brahim Diaz, Rafael Leao; Olivier Giroud.
Napoli (4-3-3): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kim Min-Jae, Amir Rrahmani, Mario Rui; Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski; Hirving Lozano, Giacomo Raspadori, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Milan vs Napoli Prediction
Without Osimhen, we’d give Milan a slight upper hand. But while we expect the hosts to take advantage of the Nigerian’s absence and gain a first-leg lead, this tie will likely go down to the wire.
Prediction: Milan Win
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