The final chapter of April’s mouth-watering head-to-head trilogy between Napoli and Milan takes place at the Maradona Stadium on Tuesday. The two Serie A heavyweights will face off in the return leg of their blockbuster Champions League quarter-final tie.
Ismael Bennacer’s first-half strike in the first leg at the San Siro is the difference going into a crunch second leg in Naples. But unlike last week, Napoli will have their talismanic striker Victor Osimhen back to the fold from a short-term injury. The Nigerian’s return will fill Luciano Spalletti’s side with confidence as they bid to overturn a narrow 1-0 deficit.
Osimhen’s cameo appearance in a dull 0-0 home draw against Hellas Verona at the weekend indicates he’ll be ready to make his first competitive start since mid-March. In his absence, Napoli had only won one of their four matches in all competitions (D1, L2), courtesy of a 2-1 triumph at Serie A minnows Lecce.
However, they have lost both encounters against Milan this month without scoring. That’s probably the only positive for the underperforming visitors after a 1-1 draw at Bologna on Saturday left them vulnerable in a closely-contested top-four race in Serie A. But Stefano Pioli’s attention rests firmly on making a standout achievement in the Champions League.
You don’t have to look beyond Pioli’s starting XI at Renato Dall’Ara to get the full grasp of Milan’s priorities. It’s been 16 years since Milan last qualified for the Champions League semi-finals. So even though their defending Serie A campaign has gone sideways, the Rossoneri could still redeem themselves by reaching the grand final of Europe’s most prestigious competition.
Match Preview
Napoli
Regardless of the outcome of this tie, Napoli have already made their best-ever run in the Champions League by advancing into the quarter-finals. But they’re unlikely to settle for playing second fiddle to a Milan side, whom they’re on the verge of disposing of the Serie A title in remarkable fashion.
Playing in Naples should boost the home team’s hopes of turning this tie on its head. Spalletti’s men have gone unbeaten in their last 12 Champions League outings at the Maradona Stadium (W9, D3). Indeed, they’ve won all four European home matches this season by an aggregate score of 14-3, netting at least three goals on each occasion.
However, the last time Napoli progressed from a UEFA knockout tie after losing the first leg was in the 1988/89 UEFA Cup quarter-final versus Juventus. Since then, they have suffered ten successive eliminations after going down in the first leg.
Player to Watch: Victor Osimhen
It’s been almost a month since his last start for Napoli, but Osimhen could be the catalyst to help the Partenopei flip the script in this massive quarter-final contest. The fact he’s never scored against Milan will only increase his desire to get his side off the mark in April’s H2H trilogy.
Milan
Despite drawing their last two Serie A games against below-par opponents, Bologna and Empoli, Milan should still be pretty confident of downplaying the odds in southern Italy. While scoring hasn’t been their strong suit of late, Pioli’s men can rely on a rock-solid backline to catapult them into the next round.
Milan have kept a clean sheet in their last five Champions League fixtures, accounting for the best defensive streak in Europe’s elite tournament since Manchester City’s run of seven in 2020/21. Additionally, they have defeated Napoli ‘to nil’ on their last two visits to the Maradona Stadium, including a thumping 4-0 victory earlier in April.
Throughout the club’s rich European history, Milan have only failed to progress into the next UEFA knockout twice after winning the first leg, last bowing out to Barcelona in the 2012/13 Champions League last-16.
Player to Watch: Rafael Leao
Despite failing to get on the scoresheet in the first leg, Rafael Leao was a game-changing factor at the San Siro. In addition to providing an assist, he was the liveliest-looking player in the Milan camp. Plus, he netted a double in Naples a fortnight ago.
Team News
While Spalletti will be over the moon after welcoming Osimhen back from injury, he’ll have some challenging calls to make. In-demand center-back Kim Min-Jae picked up a yellow card at the San Siro and will have to watch this clash from the stands. The same goes for Andre Frank Zambo-Anguissa, who received his marching orders in the first leg.
The two first-team stalwarts will join second-choice striker Giovanni Simeone on the sidelines, leaving Spalletti short of options in multiple areas of the squad.
As for Milan, veteran goal-getter Zlatan Ibrahimovic remains the only high-profile injury in the visiting camp. After resting Bennacer and Sandro Tonali, Pioli will bring his two most-trusted midfielders back to the starting lineup.
Likewise, Theo Hernandez, Simon Kjaer, Fikayo Tomori, Davide Calabria, Brahim Diaz, Leao, and Olivier Giroud all started on the bench at Dall’Ara. All should regain their starting berths on Tuesday.
Napoli vs Milan Potential Lineups
Napoli (4-3-3): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Tanguy Ndombele, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski; Hirving Lozano, Victor Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Davide Calabria, Simon Kjaer, Fikayo Tomori, Hernandez; Ismael Bennacer, Sandro Tonali; Diaz, Rade Krunic, Rafael Leao; Olivier Giroud.
Napoli vs Milan Prediction
Despite the return of Osimhen and the fervent backing of their success-starved fans supporters, it won’t be an easy task for Napoli to overcome Milan.
Milan’s practical approach has proved advantageous in this season’s tournament and could potentially lead them to the semi-finals. The Rossoneri’s steady progress towards a return to Europe’s elite over the past few years means that they could rise to the challenge of facing Napoli in southern Italy.
Prediction: Milan to progress
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