Following the defeat to Udinese, AC Milan will be looking to bounce back with a win against Napoli tonight. It won’t be an easy task for the Rossoneri, especially since they are playing away from home.
Stefano Pioli has had a lot to work on during the international break and the fans are hoping that the return to the 4-2-3-1 formation can help revive Milan. You can read our pre-match preview here, while below are the best stats ahead of the game…
Match facts…
➤ This will be match number 150 in Serie A between Napoli and AC Milan: the Rossoneri have won only two of their last 16 league matches against the Azzurri (D5, L9), but they have won two of the last five (L3).
➤ AC Milan have won both of their last two away games against Napoli in Serie A while only once have they achieved three consecutive wins at the Azzurri’s home in the top-flight: between 1948 and 1951.
➤ Napoli and AC Milan – who will also face each other in the Champions League Quarter-Finals – will meet at least four times in the same year for the first time since 1989/90: in that case, the Azzurri won their first league match and then recorded one draw and two defeats in the other three in Serie A and Coppa Italia.
➤ This will be only the second time in Serie A history where Napoli will face AC Milan with more than 15 points between them (23 in this case): the other occasion came back on 15th of April 2018, with the Azzurri 25 points ahead of the Rossoneri before the match (0-0 at the Meazza).
➤ Napoli are without a draw for longer than any other current Serie A side: 23 games in a row without drawing (W21, L2); only Bochum (one) has collected fewer draws than the Azzurri (two) in the big five European Leagues in 2022/23.
➤ Across the last nine league matches, only Lecce (six) have suffered more defeats than Milan (five) in Serie A and only Cremonese (17) have conceded more goals than the Rossoneri (16) in the top-flight.
➤ Napoli have scored the most headed goals in the big five European Leagues in 2022/23 (15), AC Milan (10) have conceded the most headed goals in Serie A this term – in the big five European leagues, only Angers (12), Eintracht Frankfurt, Bournemouth and Southampton (11 each) have conceded more goals in this way than the Rossoneri this season.
➤ Victor Osimhen has netted a goal every 91 minutes on average in Serie A in 22/23; among players with at least 20 goals scored in a single top-flight campaign in the three points for a win era, only four players can better that rate: Muriel (1 every 65 in 2020/21), Vieri (1 every 78 in 2002/03), Higuaín (1 every 83 in 2015/16) and Immobile (1 every 88 in 2019/20).
➤ AC Milan are Piotr Zielinski’s favourite opponent in Serie A, with four goals scored against them, including his first brace in the competition (25th of August 2018, Napoli-AC Milan 3-2) – the Polish player is gaining attention in this tournament more for assists (seven) than for goals (three) and is chasing his record for assists in a single Serie A season (10 in 2020/21).
➤ Olivier Giroud has scored in his last two league games against Napoli and he could become the first AC Milan player to score in three consecutive appearances against them in Serie A in the three points for a win era (since 1994-95).