SSC Napoli vs AC Milan – 18/04/2023
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It is a quick turnaround in the Champions League quarter-finals and on the 18th of April we have the second leg of the tie between Napoli and AC Milan.
The match will be played at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and the visitors have a 1-0 advantage from the first leg in the San Siro last week.
Napoli came into the game on the back of a 0-0 draw at home with Verona in Serie A on the weekend.
It is worth noting Napoli rested several of their regular starters for this game and the point means they remain well clear at the top of Serie A. Lazio are in second place but 14 points behind.
However, the draw with Verona means Napoli have won only 1 of their 4 most recent fixtures in all competitions.
The win came at Lecce in Serie A but there have been defeats at home against AC Milan in Serie A, which was a shock 4-0 loss and away to AC Milan in the first leg of this tie in the Champions League.
Trends show Napoli have won 2 of their last 4 Champions League games. The wins have come home and away against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Their home form in the competition have been excellent and Napoli are undefeated in their last 12 home Champions League matches, winning each of their last 4 games on home soil. Over 2.5 goals have been scored in each of Napoli’s last 4 home Champions League fixtures.
AC Milan travel to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona having been held to a 1-1 draw at Bologna in Serie A on Saturday. Like Napoli, AC Milan made several changes to their starting XI for the match and having conceded an early goal scored the equaliser shortly before half time.
The draw in Bologna means AC Milan are undefeated in their 4 most recent fixtures in all competitions. There have been wins away to Napoli in Serie A and at home in the Champions League plus draws with Empoli at home and away to Bologna in Serie A.
Trends show AC Milan are undefeated in their last 5 Champions League games. They have won 4 of those 5 matches but have recorded only 2 victories from their last 8 on the road in the competition. However, AC Milan are undefeated in 4 of their last 5 away Champions League fixtures.
Team news and Napoli are without the suspended duo of Andre Zambo Anguissa and Min-Jae Kim. Giovanni Simeone is injured but Victor Osimhen could return to play in attack.
AC Milan are without injured striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic but he is the only player currently unavailable for the visitors.
The fitness of Osimhen could prove key to how Napoli perform in this match. We expect to see both teams scoring and this game could end level, with over 2.5 goals scored in total. 2-2 is a good final score prediction and would see AC Milan progress to the semi-final.
