Tonight the fate of Napoli and AC Milan will be known as the outcome of the Champions League quarter-final tie will be decided at the Maradona.
Napoli and Milan face off tonight for the fourth time this season, the third in just over two weeks, and while the Azzurri are flying towards the Scudetto the Rossoneri have stung them twice recently, winning 4-0 at the Maradona in the league and 1-0 in the first leg.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
This morning’s edition of Tuttosport (via MilanNews) identifies five key duels that will be crucial in deciding who meets Inter or Benfica in the semi-finals, starting with Mike Maignan versus Victor Osimhen.
The striker is the top scorer in Serie A but he faces potentially the best goalkeeper in the world, with the two having been team-mates at Lille for a season. The Nigerian has impressive numbers this season, but the Frenchman needs no introduction and his prowess speaks for itself.
Milan will have to try and keep Maignan’s work to a minimum, and Ismael Bennacer will be called again to anaesthetise the brain of Napoli, which is Stanislav Lobotka. If he pins him for the third game in a row, supply to the forwards will suffer.
On Milan’s right side it is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia who will challenge Davide Calabria. The Rossoneri captain has shown two excellent performances against the Georgian recently and there is also a need for a third who can put the icing on the cake.
On the other hand, Stefano Pioli’s men are pinning a large part of their hopes on Rafael Leao who – together with Theo Hernandez – can represent a constant thorn in the side on the Neapolitan right lane. On that side there will be captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo trying to stem the tide but also trying to respond with his own runs.
Finally there is the challenge of inspiration: for Milan there is Brahim Diaz – who seems to have a good feeling against Napoli lately – and for Napoli Elmas, who could be a wild card with the match in progress.
