AC MILAN v NAPOLI: MATCH PREVIEW

The honour of being there, the privilege of playing it. Only strong emotions accompany the Rossoneri ahead of the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. The big day has arrived, at 21:00 CEST, the eagerly awaited AC Milan vs Napoli match will be staged at San Siro. Team and stadium, players and spectators: together to make history, trying to grab the first leg of the special Italian derby on the European stage to gain an advantage ahead of the return match scheduled for next Tuesday. Here is our Match Preview:

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
As in the Round of 16, the first leg is at San Siro. From the 1-0 over Tottenham to the 3-1 over Dinamo Zagreb: so far the home leg in Europe has been very good, three wins and eight goals scored in four matches. The Rossoneri have just put behind them the home draw (0-0) against Empoli in the league, negative but not in terms of performance. Ibrahimović is the only unavailable player (not on the list), for the rest the squad is complete, noting Kalulu's recovery just in time. Coach Pioli should risk his best line-up, probably the same one that put up 4 goals at the Maradona in the Serie A match: from Calabria to Kjær to Krunić, in attack Leão and Díaz on the outside and Giroud as a forward in the 4-2-3-1. On a yellow card: Ballo-Touré, Krunić, Tomori and Tonali.

"The performances in the league give us some indication" the words of Pioli in the press conference on the eve of the match, "we know we have to play a great match to be up to the task against such a strong opponent. We have to play with attention in every aspect, Napoli have great quality and know how to take advantage of every mistake. In the Champions League we showed that we are up to it, with the power of dreams we won the Scudetto so dreaming is good for us".

LATEST FROM NAPOLI
The Azzurri are just around the corner from becoming champions of Italy. At the top since the beginning of the season with a considerable lead after an extraordinary championship, last weekend the Partenopei started to win again: 2-1 in Lecce. In the Round of 16, Napoli eliminated Eintracht Frankfurt and finished first in the group ahead of Liverpool, Ajax and Rangers. Spalletti will have to do without his striker Osimhen, the evening's big absentee who is still in the stands and working to be there for the return leg. In attack it is a real emergency, also considering Simeone's absence due to a muscular problem: the alternative is Raspadori, however not in perfect condition. In the opponent's 4-3-3, Olivera seems favoured over Mário Rui and Lozano over Politano; watch out for the Kvaratskhelia factor. On a yellow: Kim, Juan Jesus and Politano.

"It will be difficult" Spalletti's words, "we will play a lot and we will be ready. These are the matches that erase a lot of things, we need a mentality of champions who do not distinguish between playing at home or away, regardless of who we have in front of us. All the times that surround these matches are beautiful, not just the game itself".

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN ON TV
In Italy, AC Milan v Napoli will be shown on Amazon Prime Video at 21:00 CET. Starting at 19:30 CET, until kick-off, there's all the build-up on Milan TV's Matchday. After the game, we will have interviews and Stefano Pioli's post-match conference.

LATEST FROM CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
The first leg of the quarter-finals began on Tuesday with Benfica 0-2 Inter and Manchester City 3-0 Bayern Munich. AC Milan v Napoli and Real Madrid v Chelsea will be played on Wednesday at 21:00 CEST.

REFEREE
The referee will be István Kovács. One previous match with the Rossoneri: Shkëndija 0-1 AC Milan in the return leg of the play-off to reach the 2017/18 Europa League group stage. Two with the Azzurri: Barcelona 1-1 Napoli in the Round of 16 first leg of the 2021/22 Europa League and Genk 0-0 Napoli in the 2019/20 Champions League group stage. Assisting the Romanian whistle, Marinescu and Artene as linesmen, Fesnic as fourth man and Dankert (flanked by Fritz) on VAR.

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