AC Milan face their biggest challenge of the 2025/26 season so far tonight, Napoli come to the San Siro, and the hope is they leave with nothing.
It has been a fantastic week for Milan, a 3-0 win against Udinese last weekend made it three wins in a row in Serie A, whilst a 3-0 win against Lecce moved the Rossoneri into the next round of the Coppa Italia.
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Six goals scored, none conceded, the Diavolo are one of the most in-form sides in Italy. However, they will face a team that have only won so far in Serie A, the Partenopei.
Here are the battles that could be decisive tonight.
AC Milan vs. Napoli: The five key battles
It is extremely difficult to actually identify only five battles for this game, given there are so many different stories across the pitch.
However, things start at the back, where Mike Maignan and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic will have a lot to say in the game and the future. Milan entered the summer looking at the goalkeeper, considering him as a replacement for Maignan.
He went to Napoli, instead, though. So, he could prove that the Rossoneri made a mistake by not making a move tonight.
Luka Modric then faces a battle, albeit not literally, against Kevin De Bruyne. Of course, the two will overlap on the pitch, and they will probably be involved in a battle here and there. The biggest battle, though, will be their impact.
Both are the ‘maestro’ for their team, and this has been deemed a battle of the ‘maestri’, as a result.
Adrien Rabiot and Frank Anguissa also present an interesting battle in the midfield. The midfield should decide this game, and both are the engines of their respective team. As all-action players, both adored by their coaches, this could maybe be the best clash of the game, even if it is not the most decisive.
Another parallel should play out on the front line, where Santiago Gimenez will face the man who could have replaced him this summer, Rasmus Hojlund. The Dane struggled in the Premier League and was identified as an option by the Rossoneri.
However, the club failed to give him assurances, so he went to Naples, and has been alright so far, scoring once in his first two games in Serie A. Gimenez, then, can prove that he is the better option, hopefully inspired by his goal this week in the Coppa Italia.
Finally, the battle on the right-hand side could be interesting. Alexis Saelemaekers has been one of the best players in Serie A this season, and he is likely to face Miguel Gutierrez, who is known for getting forward.
Both will have to be aware of everything in this game, and it will be a real test for both. An entertaining one, though.
Finally, it is worth stating that battles between Conte and Allegri are always interesting, so that presents another general battle.
The battle will be won or lost in midfield.
Defenses are comparable.
Front lines roughly balanced, since Santi is a question mark, as is Lucca. But Puli is in better form than Hojlund. We are without Leao whom we can bring on with Nkunku, which gives our bench an advantage.
So it’s all about midfielders. Napoli will likely press on Modric as much as they can, so Milan will have to move the ball quickly through Rabiot/Fofana. But Milan also will need to pressure Anguissa/Lobotka off the ball.
de Bruyne is an attacking midfielder, and plays almost no defense. If you look at his stats, he is a total zero on defense, he is all about attacking forward, making great progressive passes.
Modric’s greatest contribution as a defensive midfielder is anticipating passes and making interceptions, where he ranks high amongst midfielders.