Sunday’s mouth-watering top-table Serie A six-point brings reigning champions Milan and high-flying Napoli against each other at the Stadio San Siro. Tied on 14 points in a three-way race for the Serie A summit, both sides will take the field amid a rich vein of form, which promises a treat for neutrals.
Scoring on either side of halftime fired Milan to a 3-1 home win over Dinamo Zagreb in midweek Champions League action, placing the Rossoneri at the top of Group E ahead of the international break. Things are looking rosy for the defending Italian champions in domestic proceedings too.
Unbeaten after the opening six Serie A fixtures (W4, D2), Stefano Pioli’s men are all too aware Napoli won’t offer them a straightforward task as Dinamo did on Wednesday. But after winning their last six home league matches on the trot, Milan are enjoying their best winning streak at San Siro since 2013.
If you’re looking for an omen, the last time Milan won eight successive Serie A home fixtures, a 1-1 draw with Napoli halted their high-flying run in Lombardy. The Partenopei have all the makings to upset Pioli’s side yet again, as evidenced by their stellar showings on multiple fronts, especially in the Champions League.
Napoli’s thumping 3-0 win at Rangers in midweek proved the day-one 4-1 humbling of Liverpool was no fluke. Brimming with confidence on the back of several high-profile performances, Luciano Spalletti’s men will be out to avenge a 1-0 defeat in their most recent Serie A meetings with Milan.
Match Preview
Milan
In addition to the abovementioned six-match winning Serie A streak at home, Milan haven’t lost any of their last 22 league games at San Siro (W15, D7). Having turned one of the most iconic football venues into a fortress again, the Rossoneri would be forgiven for believing their underwhelming two-game losing home league run against Napoli could end come Sunday.
Pioli has based his team’s eye-catching success at home on a watertight backline that has kept four clean sheets in the previous six Serie A fixtures at San Siro. But you’d have to go to January 2019 for the Rossoneri’s last home clean sheet against Napoli in Italy’s top flight, testifying to the size of the task in front.
Even if they fall behind, Milan should have enough character to bounce back after winning a league-high seven points from losing positions this season. That speaks enough of this team’s mental fortitude, explaining why San Siro has been full-packed over the past few months.
Napoli
It’s still uncertain whether extra mileage will take its toll on Napoli after their phenomenal 3-0 thrashing of Rangers at Ibrox Stadium in midweek. But Spalletti’s lads have been nothing short of outstanding on their travels this season, picking up three wins from four away matches across all competitions (D1).
On top of that, Napoli scored 2+ goals in all three victories, showing the departures of Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne have not affected their attacking prowess. Led by new hero Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Partenopei have every reason for optimism ahead of their tantalising trip to San Siro.
Like Milan, Napoli have shown tremendous mental fortitude, coming from behind to rack up a league second-high six points from trailing positions this term. Particularly eventful after the break, Kvaratskhelia and his teammates have registered five of their seven away league goals this season in the second half of play.
Milan vs Napoli Potential Line-ups
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan, Davide Calabria, Pierre Kalulu, Fikayo Tomori, Theo Hernandez, Ismael Bennacer, Sandro Tonali, Alexis Saelemaekers, Charles De Ketelaere, Junior Messias, Olivier Giroud.
Napoli (4-2-3-1): Alex Meret, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Kim Min-jae, Mathias Olivera, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Giacomo Raspadori, Tanguy Ndombele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Giovanni Simeone.