Stadio San Siro forms the backdrop for Tuesday’s mouth-watering, heavyweight clash between Serie A title hopefuls Milan and Napoli. It’s the peak fixture of the first midweek round of the 2024/25 season and arguably one of the most heavily anticipated encounters in the annual schedule.
Milan head into proceedings trailing their table-topping rivals by eight points after having a weekend off. Lega Calcio’s decision to postpone their clash against Bologna at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara due to flooding left club president Paolo Scaroni fuming as he called the verdict ‘incomprehensible.’
Scaroni’s frustration isn’t unfounded, considering Milan will take on Antonio Conte’s high-flying side without two essential first-team components. Theo Hernandez and Tijjani Reijnders were supposed to serve their suspensions against Bologna, only for the league’s decision to render them unavailable for Tuesday’s showdown.
Their absences must be music to Conte’s ears, with Napoli taking this trip in high spirits following a narrow 1-0 home triumph against minnows Lecce on Saturday. Giovanni Di Lorenzo bagged a second-half winner to keep the resurgent southern outfit on the upward trajectory and fortify their lead on top of the Serie A standings.
With Inter and Juventus sharing the spoils in a remarkable 4-4 draw on Sunday night, Napoli extended their lead at the table’s summit to four points pre-round. On top of that, the Partenopei extended their unbeaten league run to eight consecutive games since a 3-0 day-one thrashing at Hellas Verona (W7, D1).
Match Preview
Milan
Portuguese manager Paulo Fonseca is still under pressure despite steadying the ship following a nightmarish start. Milan could keep a fourth consecutive home clean sheet in Serie A for the first time in a while after avoiding defeat in all four league matches at San Siro this season (W3, D1).
Three successive wins against Venezia (4-0), Lecce (3-0), and Udinese (1-0) have extended Rossoneri’s unbeaten Serie A streak in home league encounters to seven (W4, D3), including the tail-end of last season. Milan also got the better of Napoli in this corresponding fixture in February, running out 1-0 victors.
That result saw Milan arrest an underwhelming run of three consecutive single-goal top-flight defeats against this opposition on home turf. With three of those four games yielding an identical 1-0 scoreline, breaking the deadlock and keeping things tight at the back is paramount.
Napoli
Since the abovementioned humiliation at Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi, Napoli have gone three straight Serie A travels without conceding (W2, D1). The last time they enjoyed a longer away run without conceding was during their title-winning campaign in 2022/23, when they registered six shutouts on the trot.
Given the recent head-to-head history, the visitors’ defensive solidity could be a factor in this match. Furthermore, Conte has had Fonseca’s number, going undefeated in all four previous managerial clashes against the new Milan boss (W1, D3).
However, Napoli fans will likely have to stay patient, considering their side’s habit of turning on their engines after the break. Indeed, the three-time Serie A champions boast the best second-half record this season (W6, D2, L1). Therefore, traveling supporters can expect their team to grow stronger as the match progresses.
With a proven track record of late-game dominance and defensive solidity on the road, the visitors may again rely on their resilience to grind out a result.
Team News
As aforementioned, Milan cannot call upon the services of Hernandez and Reijnders. Additionally, Fonseca will be without long-term absentees Ismael Bennacer and Alessandro Florenzi. More recently, Matteo Gabbia and Luka Jovic have joined the injured captain, Davide Calabria, in the treatment room.
On the other hand, Napoli will take this trip without Mario Rui and Stanislav Lobotka, with the latter facing a month-long spell on the sidelines due to a thigh injury. After resting Khvicha Kvaratskhelia against Lecce, Conte will likely reinstate his talismanic winger in favor of Cyril Ngonge, who struggled against the Giallorossi.
Milan vs Napoli Potential Line-ups
Milan (4-2-3-1): Mike Maignan; Emerson Royal, Fikayo Tomori, Strahinja Pavlovic, Filippo Terracciano; Youssouf Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek; Samuel Chukwueze, Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao; Alvaro Morata.
Napoli (4-2-3-1): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Alessandro Buongiorno, Mathias Olivera; Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Billy Gilmour; Matteo Politano, Scott McTominay, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia; Romelu Lukaku.
Milan vs Napoli Prediction
Though both teams would appreciate three points, we believe Milan and Napoli could share the spoils at San Siro for the first time since November 2019.
Prediction: Draw
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