AC Milan, in buoyant form after three straight Serie A wins and midweek progress in the Coppa Italia, are set to face undefeated Napoli.
From the stands in Udine last weekend, suspended manager Massimiliano Allegri watched his side record a third successive victory without conceding, underlining how Milan have put their opening round defeat behind them. It was the first time since February 2023 that Milan won three league matches in a row with clean sheets, and they now chase a fourth for the first time since 2020. This meeting with the reigning champions is a significant examination for the Rossoneri, who last season managed only one win in fourteen matches against the seven clubs that finished above them, drawing five and losing eight.
Napoli maintained a perfect start with a hard-fought 3-2 win over newly promoted Pisa on Monday, giving them four victories from four to open a league campaign for the first time since 2021 to 2022. Antonio Conte’s team also carry the longest current unbeaten league run across Europe’s traditional top five divisions, with eleven wins and five draws, and they have kept four clean sheets in their last five away matches in Serie A, winning four and drawing one. Their broader away form is impressive too, with just one defeat in twenty league trips, twelve wins, seven draws and only twelve goals conceded in that span.
Napoli were victorious in both head-to-head fixtures last season, 2-1 at home and 2-0 away. While Milan have the stronger overall record in this fixture, with seventy wins to Napoli’s fifty-three and fifty-four draws, they have taken just one victory from their last eight home league meetings with Napoli, drawing three and losing four.
Recent trends point to tight margins. Milan have kept a clean sheet in each of their last six competitive wins, and five of their last six home matches have seen only the winning side score. Only two of Napoli’s last eight competitive away games featured goals at both ends, and they have five clean sheets in their last seven away league outings.
Christian Pulisic’s form has been a key driver for Milan, with direct involvement in four goals across his last two matches. Milan has won each of his last eight goal-scoring appearances in all competitions, and eight of his last ten goals in that run arrived after the interval. For Napoli, Lorenzo Lucca opened his account in the last round, and eight of his last nine goalscoring league appearances have coincided with both teams finding the net. Rafael Leão is yet to feature in Serie A for Milan this season, while Alessandro Buongiorno is unavailable for Napoli.
