Milan entertain Napoli on Wednesday for an UEFA Champions League quarter-finals clash at Stadio San Siro.
Milan won their last Champions League tie, beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on aggregate in the round of 16. After earning a 1-0 victory in the first leg at home, they played out a 0-0 draw in the return match.
Napoli won their last Champions League tie, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 on aggregate in the round of 16. After earning a 2-0 victory in the first leg, they ran out 3-0 victors in the return match at home. Victor Osimhen netted a brace to lead the scoring in the second leg.
The previous fixture between the sides saw Milan come out on top 4-0 in a Serie A match at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on 2 April. Rafael Leão led the Rossoneri with two goals, scoring in the 17th and 59th minute. Brahim Díaz and Alexis Saelemaekers also found the net.
Olivier Giroud has caught the eye for Milan in Champions League play. The striker is the side’s leading scorer with four goals, two of which have been the critical first of the match. Visitors Napoli have been led by four players who have each scored four times in this Champions League campaign.
The hosts have been impressive in defence in Champions League play recently, as they haven’t allowed a goal in their last four matches this season, dating to a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finish in their group stage loss against Chelsea
Hosts Milan have been tough to beat at home this Champions League season with three wins and just one loss in four contests. The Rossoneri are in the midst of a five-match home unbeaten streak (W3 D2 L0) in all competitions.
With three wins and just one loss on the road in the competition, Napoli boast a fine record in away matches this campaign. The Partenopei currently find themselves on an eight-match away winning streak.
In their last six matches in all competitions, Milan have won one, drawn three and lost two. They scored seven and conceded six over that period, scoring first in two of the six contests.
A majority of their goals (four) came in the first half, while their opponents netted two times in the first 45 minutes. Napoli have won four and lost two in their last six.
They scored 11 and conceded six in that period, netting first in four of the six. They had four goals in the first half, while their opponents netted two times before the break.
Napoli will be without Victor Osimhen as they face AC Milan in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie.
The striker, who has 25 goals across Serie A and the Champions League for Napoli this season, picked up an adductor injury while on international duty with Nigeria and has missed his club’s last two matches, including a heavy league defeat to Milan.
Giovanni Simeone is also a doubt, meaning Giacomo Raspadori is expected to lead the line. Piotr Zielinski did not feature against Lecce last time out, but is set to return to the Napoli midfield at the San Siro.
For Milan, they opted to rest a number of first-team stars over the weekend against Empoli, with Divock Origi among those to benefit from the changes.
The former Liverpool striker will almost certainly drop back to the bench though as Olivier Giroud returns to the starting lineup, while Rafael Leao and Brahim Diaz are also set to come back in.
Pierre Kalulu remains out for Milan, so it’s likely to be a back four again with Fikayo Tomori and Simon Kjaer the centre-back pairing. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still absent too.
Predicted lineups
AC Milan XI: Maignan, Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Hernandez, Tonali, Krunic, Bennacer, Diaz, Leao, Giroud
Napoli XI: Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Min-Jae, Rui, Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski, Lozano, Raspadori, Kvaratskhelia
