Yahoo Sports The five key battles that could win or lose the game for Milan against Napoli
AC Milan take on Napoli tonight in a fixture that has produced some classics over the years, and the fans at San Siro will be hoping for another one.
Antonio Conte’s side arrive as the team leading the league by four points, something that demonstrates the impact he has had and also what €150m of summer spending can do to a squad. Milan, meanwhile, need a statement result to prove their Scudetto hopes are realistic.
There will be some crucial battles across the park, and we start with one right in the heart of the pitch. Christian Pulisic has been involved in at least one goal in each of his last seven league games (five goals and three assists), and he is expected to play down the middle of the trident tonight.
That means his opponent is likely to be summer signing Billy Gilmour who Napoli got from Brighton. He has been used as the regista in a midfield three by Conte recently, so Pulisic – in addition to his usual job of creating danger – will have to try disrupt him in build-up and pin Napoli deep.
At the other end, nemesis returns to face Milan. Matteo Politano has scored five goals against the Rossoneri in Serie A, against no other opponent he has done better in the competition (five also against Genoa). In addition, the Napoli winger has scored five away goals at San Siro.
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Filippo Terracciano seems to be the one most likely to fill in for the suspended Theo Hernandez, and it will be an important test for him. In the last three seasons across all competitions (since 2022-23), Milan have won 54% of their games with Theo on the pitch (54 out of 101), scoring 1.9 goals on average. Without him, the win rate falls to 29% (4 out of 14), scoring 0.8 goals on average.
Moving into midfield, there will be a fascinating contest between Youssouf Fofana and Scott McTominay. The Frenchman has become the leader of the department for Milan since his arrival and an acclimatisation period, and with Tijjani Reijnders absent he will have to put in an extra shift.
McTominay meanwhile was a €30m addition for Napoli as he joined from Manchester United. He has already endeared himself to the Naples faithful with a couple of goals and is a marauding box-to-box player who will be on the left of the three. Fofana will have to track his movement, but might also get chance to push forward too.
One man who could really do with a goal is Alvaro Morata. The Spaniard continues to start up front – especially with Tammy Abraham and Luka Jovic injured – but he hasn’t scored since the win over Lecce and remains on two league goals. His movement to open up space for the players behind him remains important, though.
His opponent will likely by Alessandro Buongiorno, Napoli’s most expensive summer investment who was linked with Milan throughout June. He was expected to be the anchor man in a three-man defence, but with Conte preferring a 4-3-3 he has slotted in next to Amir Rrahmani in a pairing instead. He is a big reason why they have conceded only five goals in Serie A, the joint-best record.
Finally, we come to perhaps the most exciting and certainly most physical battle between Strahinja Pavlovic and Romelu Lukaku. The Serbian centre-back is expected to start alongside Malick Thiaw and he is never one to shy away from a contest like this, but he will have to be savvy.
Lukaku is someone that Milan fans know all too well, given that he has been an opponent 12 times, has scored in five of them and has won nine. There was no surprise when the Belgian teamed back up with Conte and both would love to mark their return to San Siro with three points.
