Serie A: AC Milan vs Napoli Live
Preview
On Sunday evening, the previous two winners of Serie A face off as AC Milan hosts Napoli at San Siro. Milan strengthened their hold on third place in the standings with a comeback against Frosinone, while Napoli narrowly defeated Hellas Verona with a late display of skill.
Milan, trailing city rivals Inter Milan by four points in Serie A, staged a comeback in their recent match against mid-table Frosinone. Despite being down 2-1, Matteo Gabbia scored the second goal, and Olivier Giroud increased his goal involvements to 19 in 20 league appearances. Luka Jovic, Giroud’s substitute, scored a late winner, making Milan the team with the most goals via substitutes in Italy’s top flight. Since December, Jovic has the best scoring ratio across Europe’s top five leagues.
Although Milan has shown renewed confidence in the final third, they have also conceded at least twice in their last three matches. With an average of 2.5 points per game in Serie A over the last eight rounds, Milan is second only to Inter in this period and remains in contention for the Scudetto. They are comfortably positioned for a Champions League return and will begin their Europa League campaign against Rennes next Thursday.
Napoli suffered a defeat in the Champions League quarter-finals last season and were also beaten 4-0 by Milan in the 2022-23 season, despite winning the Italian championship. Their title defense has not gone as planned, with former coach Walter Mazzarri returning to replace the unpopular Rudi Garcia, but with little success. After a goalless draw against Lazio, Napoli were at risk of slipping to 10th place before their home game against Verona.
They managed to secure an unconvincing 2-1 win, but still fell four points short of the top four. Their struggles have extended to away matches, with a goalless run in four matches, matching the club’s worst record since 1979. Despite their recent success against Milan at San Siro, Napoli faces a tough challenge against Barcelona in the Champions League’s last 16.
Head-to-head
AC Milan has not lost in their last four matches against Napoli. They have won and drawn two games each during this period. The teams played to a 2-2 draw in their previous match in October last year in Naples.
Prediction
Despite the teams being evenly matched in their last 10 league encounters, with three victories each and four draws, Milan has had the advantage in the past year and is likely to defeat Napoli once more. The current champions are still struggling to work together effectively, while the previous champions have recently found their rhythm.
