Will the Rossoneri also win the Champions League?
All of football Europe will be looking to Italy on Wednesday when three-time Champions League winners Milan host champions-designate Napoli. It is in many ways a special duel in the top division – not only because two teams from the same home country are facing each other. For Napoli, it is their first ever quarter-final in Europe’s premier club competition and for the Rossoneri, it is their first last eight in more than a decade.
There is no clear favourite for AC Milan vs. Napoli, a tip is virtually possible in all directions. What is clear is that both teams will be highly motivated. A place in the semi-finals would be one of the greatest successes of the millennium for both Italian heavyweights.
Milan perhaps put an exclamation mark on the season on the penultimate matchday when they beat Napoli 4-0 in their living room. But Milan would not be Milan this season if such a brute success was not immediately followed by the next setback. Last Friday they only played 0-0 against Empoli, but were also unlucky with some close refereeing decisions.
The Rossoneri will be different and more focused when AC Milan face Napoli, with betting odds for a home win at around 2.80. A place in the semi-finals is virtually the last chance for the reigning Italian champions to turn the season into a really big success. In the league, they are clearly behind their own expectations and still have to fight for a place in the next top flight season. And the successor in the fight for the Scudetto has already been determined.
SSC Napoli can no longer be denied the title at home. More than 15 points ahead of second-placed Rome with nine games still to play is more than a board. It is extremely unlikely that coach Spaletti’s players will let the title slip away. So the focus is almost entirely on the Champions League, while they are already out of the national cup. What makes Napoli stand out this season are the comebacks after setbacks. After the defeat at the San Siro, they won again at Lecce last Friday.
Now one of the biggest games in the club’s history awaits the visitors with the clash between AC Milan and Napoli. From our point of view, predictions go minimally, if at all, in the direction of the guests, also because they will be eager for revenge for the league defeat.
However, you also have to consider the odds ratio and a home win is much more lucrative here. Kick-off for the first leg of the CL quarter-finals at the venerable Giuseppe Meazza Stadium is at 9pm on Wednesday evening. At the same time, current defending champions Real Madrid will face Chelsea London.
AC Milan – Statistics & current form
Where is AC Milan heading this season? After the 4-0 win on the penultimate matchday, many fans of the 19-time Italian champions must have started dreaming of the Champions League final. For the winner of this quarter-final awaits the winner of the clash between Inter and Lisbon in the semi-finals.
So Milan now have the tougher task ahead of them in the last eight and have shown in the league that they can beat Napoli by a wide margin. Can such a feat also be achieved in the Champions League? Master coach Pioli’s players should be highly motivated and focused ahead of Wednesday’s exciting clash. It is also the hottest game of the season so far for the hosts!
Not in the quarter-finals for over a decade
And reaching the third last knockout round in Europe’s biggest club competition is already a success for Milan, after all they hadn’t done so for more than a decade. They finished second in the group behind Chelsea, beating Salzburg and Zagreb. In the round of 16, they then won by a brutally close 1:0 cumulative against Tottenham Hotspur. Now it’s all to play for against their league rivals.
And before the penultimate league matchday, they would have gone into the two duels against SSC as the glaring underdogs. But what followed was a big surprise! With 4:0 (!) they finished off the clear leader of the Serie A in front of their own fans and made a statement that could not have been clearer. One man stood out in Milan’s triumph: Rafael Leao. The Portuguese, who is currently playing brilliantly, will also be important on Wednesday.
Speed runs, goals and brilliant passes across half the pitch! Leao is delivering everything at the moment and with him Milan would certainly not have only played 0-0 against Empoli on the last matchday. Besides Leao, veteran and leader Giroud and Brahim Diaz were also spared on the bench for a very long time. All of them, of course, for the Champions League on Wednesday. But the two points lost can still be costly in the league, the race to qualify for the CL again is tight.
But the euphoria that a semi-final appearance could spark is of course worth such measures. For AC Milan vs. Napoli, odds for a triumph for the men from Italy’s second-largest city are around 2.80. The home side are still minimal underdogs with the bookmakers.
On Wednesday, in addition to the offensive artists, Milan’s back line will of course also be important. Tomori and Theo Hernandez in particular have been convincing lately, as well as the currently strong keeper Maignan. Since his return to the box, the French international keeper has conceded only three goals in six games and has kept three clean sheets.
The 27-year-old will be a key factor on Wednesday, as will Leao, currently Milan’s two best players. In itself, Milano have every chance against the Serie A leaders, especially the recent league win should make the home side’s chest very broad.
Last matches of AC Milan:
Series A
08/04/2023 – AC Milan 0 – 0 Empoli
03/04/2023 – SSC Napoli 0 – 4 AC Milan
19/03/2023 – Udinese 3 – 1 AC Milan
14/03/2023 – AC Milan 1 – 1 Salernitana
Champions League Final
09/03/2023 – Tottenham 0 – 0 AC Milan
Napoli – Statistics & current form
“It was just a bluff, they let them win”. With statements like that, Napoli are currently talking themselves into the highest defeat of the season; Milan, as already mentioned, won 4-0 at the Diego Maradona. It was only the third defeat in the league for Napoli and the first that was deserved.
With Osimhen, the designated Italian champions were missing their best man, but the gaps in the defence and the lack of fighting spirit could not be explained in themselves. However, Napoli redeemed themselves with a 2-1 win over Lecce on the last matchday and highly motivated visitors can be expected on Wednesday.
Osimhen unlikely to feature
Painfully missing from the last league win was world-class striker and leader Osimhen. The Nigerian is currently missing with a slight injury and will in all likelihood have to watch against Milan as well. With 25 goals in 29 competitive games, the former Wolfsburg man is of course not so easy to replace, but Napoli are also formidable without the attacking man.
Of course, world-class midfielder Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, known as Kvaradona, is a prime example of the quality at the Serie A leaders. The 22-year-old Georgian has collected a total of 30 scorer points in 32 competitive games and will also be running hot at the San Siro on Wednesday. His passes and finishes are already legendary this season.
But after the 4-0 defeat, the defence of the men from the capital of the Campania region will perhaps be even more important. The Parthenopeans at times looked more like insecure A-juniors than the team with the best backline in Italy at the time in their defeat at the San Siro.
Kim, di Lorenzo and Co. certainly have very high quality, but they will have to find their feet again against Milan. The focus of the “Gli Azzuri” will certainly be on a compact and stable defence in the early stages of the match.
The odds on AC Milan vs. Napoli are around 2.50. Despite a 4-0 defeat in their penultimate match, the Napolitans are still slight favourites away from home with the bookmakers. That says a lot about the enormous strength that coach Spaletti’s players have exuded this season.
In the group stage of the CL, they left Liverpool and Amsterdam behind them for a reason, and in the round of 16 they dismantled the Europa League winners from Frankfurt am Main. But now, for the first time this season, there are question marks behind the Italian super team. Can the players from Italy’s third largest city shake off the 4-0 defeat and the injury to their best player? The answer is sure to come on Wednesday night.
Last matches of Napoli:
Serie A
07/04/2023 – Lecce 1 – 2 SSC Napoli
03/04/2023 – SSC Napoli 0 – 4 AC Milan
19/03/2023 – FC Torino 0 – 4 SSC Napoli
Champions League Final
16/03/2023 – SSC Napoli 3 – 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Serie A
11/03/2023 – SSC Napoli 2 – 0 Atalanta Bergamo
AC Milan – Napoli Direct comparison / H2H balance
150 (!) matches have been played between the two Italian heavyweights in the long and great history of Italian football. The 19-time Italian champions from Milan won 57 times, the two-time champions from Naples 45 times. In addition, there were 48 draws.
The last match ended 4-0 for Milan, a fine revenge for the 2-1 defeat at the San Siro in the first leg. The Parthenopeans from Naples have not lost the last eight league games in Milan. Before the 2-1 defeat this season from Napoli’s point of view, there were two narrow 1-0 victories in the seasons before.
AC Milan – Napoli tip
One winner is already certain on Wednesday night: the football fans! Such a classic in such an important match at European level is a feast for everyone who loves the sport. In itself, the guests from Campania should clearly be on the cards.
They haven’t lost at the San Siro for ages, plus they are clearly leading the Serie A table. But apart from the very probable absence of Victor Osimhen and the slight uncertainty against Lecce, there are a lot of things in Milan’s favour.
It seems as if important key players of the Rossoneri have reached top form for the season finale, above all Rafael Leao. In addition, they recently won 4-0 in Naples and have already knocked out the opposing heavyweight once. Milan’s chest should be very broad in front of their home crowd, and compared to the league, coach Pioli’s men have always played consistently in the all-important matches in the top flight. We will place our bets on the three-time CL winners from Lombardy in the clash between AC Milan and Napoli.
It will be a brutally close and exciting game on Wednesday night. The slightly unsettled and injury-weakened clear Serie A leaders face the in-form Milan in their living room. It’s a razor-thin decision, but we’re going with the momentum and placing our units on a prediction on the home side in AC Milan vs. Napoli.
