Serie A 2022-23: Napoli vs AC Milan: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

The runaway league leaders host defending champions & 4th place Rossoneri at the Diego Maradona Stadium, Naples.

Napoli has been the story of the season in the Serie A season with 23 wins in 27 league matches this campaign & looking on course for their third Serie A title in their history, since 1990. Their title charge has been mounted on the back of the talented duo of Victor Osimhen & Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who've combined for the most goal contribution in the Italian top flight with 47 goals & assists to their name. This has virtually assured them of the title, with 11 matches to go and an unassailable lead of 19 points at the top of the table. Interestingly, they've been drawn against this weekend's opponents in the UCL as well, & fans & neutrals will definitely view this encounter as a dress rehearsal for the tie in Europe on the 13th of April.

Similarly, AC Milan has qualified for the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, courtesy of their win against English side Tottenham Hotspur, in the round of 16. Their Serie A title defence hasn't gone according to plan & given their European progression has come at the cost of inconsistent results in the league, due to injuries & quality squad depth, an issue of most Italian teams in Europe, this season. However, a battle of pride & legacy is at stake this weekend for the Rossoneri, as they clash in the first of three meetings this month against league leaders Napoli, including in the UCL, where they might be favourites due to their European heritage.

Kick-off:

Monday, 03-04-2023, 12:15 am (IST)

Sunday, 02-04-2023, 06:45 pm (GMT)

Napoli form (all competitions): W-W-L-W-W

AC Milan form (all competitions): L-D-L-W-W

Players to watch

Napoli: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

The most exciting player to watch this season, according to Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, is having a stellar debut season with Napoli. Having signed for €10M in the summer from Dynamo Batumi leads the league in assists with 10, & 12 goals. Alongside top scorer Victor Osimhen, the duo have combined for 44 goals and assists amongst each other, & are the most deadly combination in the Italian top flight & arguably Europe. Reports suggest that he's signed a contract extension this week until 2026 with a bump in pay, & will look to reward his employers further with a top performance at the weekend.

AC Milan: Sandro Tonali

The Italian has been a mainstay for AC Milan, having already played 32 games in all competitions, including all matches in 2023. He & Ismail Bennacer, played successfully in a double-pivot midfield in Milan's Seria A title charge last year. But the midfield prodigy, linked as Andrea Pirlo's successor for Italy, has a shoulder of enormous responsibility & pressure to live up to that hype. He delivered two assists during the Internation break for Italy, against Malta, & will be the key man for Milan in this tie.

Match Facts

• During the last 21 meetings at home, SSC Napoli has won 9 times, there have been 7 draws while AC Milan has won 5 times. 
• SSC Napoli's last home win against AC Milan was in 2018.
• The goal difference of 33-24 in favour of SSC Napoli, in the matchup historically against Milan.
• SSC Napoli has a winning streak of 3 matches.

Team & Injury News

For Napoli, the squad has been largely injury free, especially to their top players who've played most of the matches without much rotation in the league as well as in Europe. However, full-back Bresezynski(ligament), forward Raspadori(thigh), and midfielder Demme(foot) will miss out through a long-term injury.

AC Milan will travel to Naples without the services of winger Messias(Thigh), centre-back Kalulu(muscle) & forward Ibrahimovic(muscle), this weekend.

Head-to-Head Stats

Matches: 34

Napoli wins: 9

AC Milan wins: 13

Draws: 12

Predicted Lineups

Napoli predicted lineup: (4-3-3)

Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Lozano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia

Milan predicted lineup(3-4-2-1): 

Maignan; Kjaer, Thiaw, Tomori; Calabria, Bennacer, Tonali, Ballo-Toure; Diaz, Leao; Giroud

Match Prediction

Napoli will look to put a final coffin in the Seria A title race and firmly send a message to the current holders that the Seria A trophy will travel down south, after 1990. However, given that Milan is also fighting for a UCL spot & and with little margin for error would look to at least take a point off the league leaders, in a closely contested tie.

Prediction: Napoli 2 - 2 AC Milan

Telecast

India – Voot, Jio Cinema

UK - Eurosport app, beIN Sports

USA – fuboTV, Fox Sports

Nigeria – DAZN