Two of the grandest names in Serie A clash at San Siro on Sunday, as AC Milan host southern rivals Napoli, aiming to keep their Scudetto challenge on track after a positive result in Europe.
Former Milan stalwart Gennaro Gattuso, meanwhile, brings his inconsistent side to the second city after a midweek break, having crashed out of the Europa League in the previous round, and is intent on securing a top four place for his current club.
Match preview
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Having two goals disallowed and seeing Manchester United miss some glaring opportunities, Milan were deserving recipients of a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 glamour tie with the Premier League giants. Veteran centre-back Simon Kjaer snatched a much merited away goal at Old Trafford, after former Atalanta forward Amad Diallo had opened the scoring with a cute back-header over a stranded Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Following their weekend success against a competent Verona side at the Bentegodi, their jaunt to England's northwest continued a positive week for the Diavolo - who resume proceedings against their Red Devil counterparts next Thursday.
First, though they must take on an unpredictable Napoli team, under the idiosyncratic management of an old playing favourite - and past manager - Gennaro Gattuso.
Though Milan are unbeaten in their last four league matches against the Neapolitans, their last home win against them in the top flight was back in December 2014 - since then, they have played out two defeats followed by three draws.
Stabilising somewhat since being toppled from the Serie A summit by their city rivals Inter, Stefano Pioli's men have also ended Roma's unbeaten home record and drawn with in-form Udinese in recent weeks. In the standings, they remain in second place, still six points adrift of the Nerazzurri and four ahead of Juventus, who have a game in hand.
Pioli has had to negotiate a tricky spell with several integral pieces of his previously well-oiled machine sidelined through illness or injury - Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hakan Calhanoglu are among the latest to sit in the Rossoneri's sick bay - so can be content with the input of his modestly-regarded fringe players.
Versus Verona, both Rade Krunic and Diogo Dalot hit the target for the first time in the 2020-21 campaign, with the title chasers now registering 15 different scorers in Serie A action so far - only free-scoring Atalanta have had more. In Ibrahimovic's continued absence, it is likely more of the back-up boys may be needed to seal a seasonal double over dangerous Napoli and keep Milan in the hunt for their first Scudetto in a decade.
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Ahead of a critical phase of the season, when they are set to face a succession of major rivals, Napoli are unbeaten in three league games and arrive in Milan fresh from a midweek rest after a 3-1 success over Bologna last time out.
Inspirational captain Lorenzo Insigne continued his red-hot form with a brace at Dall'Ara, and the diminutive forward has now racked up four goals from his last five appearances, while the injury and controversy-hit Victor Osimhen offered his under-pressure manager a boost by netting his first goal since November.
In the frequent absence of others through injury and illness, Insigne is currently the club's leading scorer on 12 league goals and, incidentally, no player in Serie A has scored the opening goal more times (eight) than the fans' local hero this season. The Naples-born forward's favourite foil Dries Mertens finally returned to action of late, following injury, and has allowed Insigne to shift back into his favoured role just wide of the front man.
However, with Champions League qualification apparently the minimum standard set by the Partenopei's demanding president Aurelio De Laurentiis, the equally combustible Gennaro Gattuso's team currently sit sixth in Serie A and the fixture list makes for sobering reading.
Their next three away games could prove decisive in the tightly-contested top four battle this term, as after Sunday's journey to Milan, they must visit Juventus and then Roma. With both Inter and Lazio lying in wait in the weeks following that, there remains all to play for in an intriguing climax to the season for the Campanian club.
Faced with such a forbidding lineup of opponents, Napoli must somehow find a way of ending a winless streak away from home that stretches back to early January, when they won against Udinese at the Dacia Arena. As speculation persists about Gattuso's future prospects in the hot seat, with Maurizio Sarri and Max Allegri apparently among the contenders to replace him in the summer, his hopes of retaining favour in Naples rest upon it.
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Team News
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Though flying full-back Theo Hernandez is expected to return, having overcome bruising which caused him to miss the trip to Manchester and a subsequent stomach bug, Milan still have several other concerns.
While Ante Rebic (hip) may be fit in time for Sunday's evening kickoff, Mario Mandzukic and Ismael Bennacer are unlikely to feature yet. Top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not expected to return from thigh strains until next week.
As Davide Calabria sustained a groin injury in the Europa League, Hernandez's stand-in Diogo Dalot - a scorer last weekend - could switch to the right side of Stefano Pioli's back four. Matteo Gabbia must cover for the injured Simon Kjaer in central defence, alongside Fikayo Tomori.
Midfield general Franck Kessie should be joined by Sandro Tonali in the centre, with Soualiho Meite potentially dropping to the bench and Rade Krunic starts in support of lone front man Rafael Leao.
Napoli's previously injury-ravaged forward line is getting closer to full strength, as both Andrea Petagna and Hirving Lozano are back in full training after thigh problems - with a place in the squad a distinct possibility for the Mexican speedster.
However, full-back Faouzi Ghoulam - recently returned to favour - tore the ACL in his left knee against Bologna and is out for the rest of the season at a minimum.
One of either Mario Rui or Elseid Hysaj will step into Ghoulam's vacated left-back berth, while Victor Osimhen will compete with Dries Mertens for the centre-forward's role.
AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hernandez, Gabbia, Tomori, Dalot; Kessie, Tonali; Krunic, Calhanoglu, Castillejo; Leao
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Di Lorenzo, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Hysaj; Demme, Ruiz; Politano, Zielinski, Insigne; Mertens
We say: AC Milan 2-1 Napoli
Milan have shown resilience to impress against Roma, Verona and Manchester United in recent games, despite key men being missing. Though their scintillating early-season form has subsided, the Rossoneri can still stay in contention for title glory with their first San Siro win in over a month.
Meanwhile, Napoli's less-than-impressive away record is poised to continue this weekend, as they seemingly lurch from triumph to disaster and back again on a fortnightly basis.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a AC Milan win with a probability of 40.24%. A win for Napoli had a probability of 35.66% and a draw had a probability of 24.1%.
The most likely scoreline for an AC Milan win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.68%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.54%) and 2-0 (5.92%). The likeliest Napoli win was 1-2 (8.1%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.05%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 7% likelihood.
