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Napoli logo
Serie A | Gameweek 30
Mar 30, 2025 at 7.45pm UK
Stadio Diego Armando Maradona
Milan logo

Napoli
2 - 1
AC Milan

Politano (2'), Lukaku (19')
Lukaku (40'), Conte (76')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Jovic (84')
Jimenez (90')

Preview: Napoli vs. AC Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Serie A clash between Napoli and AC Milan, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Two Serie A heavyweights will convene at Stadio Maradona on Sunday evening, as title-chasing Napoli host top-four hopefuls AC Milan.

The Partenopei continued to stumble before the international break, leaving them three points adrift of Milan's city rivals in an absorbing Scudetto race. With just nine games to go, they cannot afford to slip up again.


Match preview

Napoli coach Antonio Conte on December 29, 2024© Imago

Playing ahead of title rivals Inter Milan and Atalanta BC, who met later that day, Napoli had the chance to seize top spot in Serie A as they visited Venezia for their final game before the break.

Victory at Stadio Penzo would have piled pressure on their fellow contenders, but another unconvincing display saw Antonio Conte's side forced to settle for a goalless draw.

Inter's subsequent success in Bergamo leaves the Partenopei three points behind Italy's reigning champions with nine rounds remaining, as a defining part of the campaign gets under way.

Since the start of February, Napoli have won only one of seven Serie A matches - one more failure than throughout their first 22 this season - but they are still intent on claiming a second Scudetto in three years.

Conte, for one, will never give up, particularly as Atalanta are also falling away and Inter must complete a packed run-in, competing on three separate fronts.

Coming into Sunday's contest, Napoli have 14 points more on the board than Milan, who they beat 2-0 at San Siro in October, with Romelu Lukaku and the much-missed Khvicha Kvaratskhelia both finding the target.

AC Milan's Tijjani Reijnders celebrates after scoring on November 5, 2024© Imago

While they were defeated on home turf when the teams last met, Milan are actually unbeaten in six games at Stadio Maradona across all competitions - including a clash in the 2023 Champions League quarter-finals.

The Rossoneri have never gone seven successive games without losing in Naples throughout their long and illustrious history, but they are now just 90 minutes away from doing so.

Easing a sense of crisis surrounding the club earlier in March, Milan turned to their two most reliable performers to bail them out against Como just before international football intervened for the final time this season.

Tijjani Reijnders and Christian Pulisic struck to see off their ambitious Lombardy rivals at San Siro, overturning a one-goal deficit at half time.

After a previous comeback against Lecce - in which Pulisic bagged a brace - Milan could now win three league games in a row for the first time since September, when Paulo Fonseca was still in charge.

His replacement, fellow Portuguese coach Sergio Conceicao, may have started off by lifting the Supercoppa Italiana, but the rumour mill suggests he will not stay beyond the end of the current campaign - Conte has been tipped by some as his replacement.

Amid acrimony on and off the pitch, ninth-placed Milan have accrued only 47 points so far: over the past 20 years, just one team with such a low tally at this stage of a Serie A season ultimately finished inside the top four.

Napoli Serie A form:

AC Milan Serie A form:


AC Milan form (all competitions):



Team News

Napoli's Romelu Lukaku, Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Di Lorenzo on March 9, 2025© Imago

Although David Neres is back in full training, Napoli's formation change to a 3-5-2 - prompted by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's departure and his replacement's subsequent injury - is not likely be reversed.

Italy striker Giacomo Raspadori should therefore partner Romelu Lukaku, who has been directly involved in eight goals in just 818 minutes of play against Milan.

Frank Anguissa's recent layoff has also hit the Partenopei's title hopes, and another fitness issue for the Cameroon star will see Billy Gilmour join Stanislav Lobotka and Scott McTominay in central midfield.

As Alessandro Florenzi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have both returned to action of late, only Emerson Royal will be missing from Milan's squad due to injury; Yunus Musah must serve a suspension.

Once again, Santiago Gimenez and Tammy Abraham will vie to start up front, but there should be no doubt about the presence of USA international Christian Pulisic.

Since he joined the Rossoneri last season, the American is one of only two Serie A players to have both scored at least 30 goals and provided at least 15 assists across all competitions, along with Atalanta's Ademola Lookman.


Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Politano, Anguissa, Lobotka, McTominay, Olivera; Raspadori, Lukaku

AC Milan possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Walker, Thiaw, Gabbia, Hernandez; Bondo, Fofana; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Abraham


SM words green background

We say: Napoli 2-1 AC Milan

There are potentially plenty of twists and turns in store at Stadio Maradona, as Milan and Napoli are both inside Serie A's top four for points gained from losing positions.

The Rossoneri have fought back several times under Sergio Conceicao - including twice earlier this month - but overturning an Antonio Conte-led side may be beyond them.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


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Written by
Jonathan O'Shea

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Game History

How you voted: Napoli vs AC Milan

Napoli
74.3%
Draw
10.6%
AC Milan
15.0%
113
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Napoli34228454252974
2Inter Milan34218572333971
3Atalanta BCAtalanta34198767313665
4Juventus341614451312062
5Bologna341613552371561
6Roma34179849321760
7Lazio34179857451260
8Fiorentina34178953341959
9AC Milan341591053381554
10Torino341013113839-143
11Como34119144448-442
12Udinese34118153648-1241
13Genoa34912132941-1239
14CagliariCagliari3489173549-1433
15Parma34614144053-1332
16Hellas VeronaHellas Verona3495203062-3232
17Lecce3469192456-3227
18VeneziaVenezia34413172748-2125
19Empoli34413172754-2725
20Monza3429232559-3415


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