Serie A Preview: Napoli vs Milan – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Sunday’s Serie A action closes out at Stadio Diego Maradona as Napoli and Milan go head-to-head in a heavyweight clash. Both teams desperately need three points to get closer to achieving their ultimate goals this season.

Napoli’s pursuit of a second Scudetto in three years has taken a series of blows in 2025. Indeed, a disheartening 0-0 draw at relegation-battling Venezia on the stroke of March’s international break saw Antonio Conte’s charges lose ground on pacesetters Inter.

Inter’s 2-0 win at Atalanta opened up a three-point gap at the table’s summit, highlighting the importance of winning in front of their home fans tomorrow night. However, the Partenopei can’t take anything for granted as they headed into this round 13th in the Serie A form table since the start of February.

Yet, Napoli’s recent struggles pale in comparison to Milan’s epic downfall. Despite the club’s commendable effort in the last two transfer windows, something is seemingly stinking behind the scenes. Back-to-back comebacks against Como and Lecce before the international break had restored a feel-good factor at the San Siro.

However, the situation is far from ideal, with Milan trailing fourth-placed Bologna by six points pre-round. The risk of missing out on European qualification altogether is equally real, as four points separate the Rossoneri from six-placed Lazio. Therefore, this fixture has all the makings of a must-win clash for the visiting side.

Match Preview

Napoli

As the Serie A season enters its decisive phase, Napoli will treat every match as a ‘make or break’ in their relentless quest to chase down Inter. A series of draws in recent weeks has hindered their title ambitions, with Conte’s team pulling off only one win in their last seven league outings (D5, L1).

That poor run of form placed Napoli 13th in the league’s form table since the start of February before this round. On a positive note, the hosts head into proceedings on a six-game unbeaten league run on home soil (W4, D2). Yet, conceding exactly once in each of the last four highlights Napoli’s defensive vulnerability.

A relatively favorable run of seven fixtures to close out the season keeps their title hopes alive. However, they must break a six-game home winless streak against AC Milan (D3, L3) before facing a tricky trip to top-four contenders Bologna next week. As such, this could prove a season-defining game for Napoli.

Milan

Over that same seven-game stretch where Napoli have faltered, Milan picked up 13 points, suggesting the visitors should take the field in a better mood. Unfortunately, despite their resurgence, they still have a mountain to climb to avoid a first finish outside Serie A’s top four since 2019/20.

It has been a challenging campaign for Milan, as their 47-point tally is lower than what they had at this stage in eight of the last nine Serie A seasons. However, the one exception saw them stage a late push to secure a top-six finish. Recent performances indicate a repeat could be on the cards this term.

After seeing off Como and Lecce, Milan can post three successive league triumphs for the first time since September. They’ve gotten used to doing things the hard way, especially under Sergio Conceicao, with four of their six league wins since the ex-Porto boss’ arrival seeing them fight back from a deficit to claim three points.

Impressively, Milan have found the net in 15 of their last 16 away games against Napoli, registering a decent 62.5% unbeaten ratio in that sequence (W4, D6, L6).

Team News

Despite David Neres’ return to full training, Giacomo Raspadori will likely partner up with Romelu Lukaku at the heart of Napoli’s attack. More importantly, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is back from a recent layoff and will dislodge Billy Gilmour from the starting line-up.

Meanwhile, Emerson Royal is the only notable absentee in the Milan camp after Alessandro Florenzi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek recovered from injuries. However, Yunus Musah is unavailable for selection for accumulated yellow cards. Warren Bondo will probably take his place in the double pivot.

Napoli vs Milan Potential Starting Line-ups

Napoli (3-5-2): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Politano, Anguissa, Lobotka, McTominay, Spinazzola; Raspadori, Lukaku.

Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Walker, Thiaw, Gabbia, Hernandez; Bondo, Fofana; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Abraham.

Napoli vs Milan Prediction

Napoli eased past Milan 2-0 in October’s reverse fixture at the San Siro, and we wouldn’t be surprised if they completed a league double over the Rossoneri for the first time since the 2010/11 season. However, Milan’s recent upturn in form and a strong scoring record in away meetings suggest this could be a tightly contested affair.