Image copyright: Getty Images
2022/23 UEFA Champions League
Quarter-finals
First leg
AC Milan v Napoli
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Milan, Italy
Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Kick-off is at 20h00
An all-Italian affair will see AC Milan host Napoli in the first leg of their
UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie at the San Siro on Wednesday, April 12.
The Partenopei are on course to win their first Serie A title since 1989-90 as they hold a 16-point lead over closest challengers Lazio with 10 matches left to play.
However, the Rossoneri are just a further four points adrift in third place after beating the league leaders 4-0 on April 2 to halt a three-match winless run, which had seen them relinquish second position.
Milan are looking to rekindle the glory days as former winners of Europe's elite club competition, with the last of their seven titles coming in 2006-07.
Stefano Pioli's side eliminated Tottenham by the narrowest of margins in the last 16, winning 1-0 in Italy before playing out to a 0-0 draw in England three weeks later.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Meanwhile, the Naples outfit have suffered three defeats in 13 top-flight games this year after previously going unbeaten in their opening 15 matches, with two of those coming in the last month.
Luciano Spalletti's men have a comfortable cushion to play with though, and will be focusing their efforts on reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in the club's history.
The Blues have already achieved their best run in the competition - they had only made it as far as the round of 16 on three occasions in 2011–12, 2016–17 and 2019–20.
Image copyright: Getty Images
In team news, the hosts are expected to be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pierre Kalulu (both muscular) and Junior Messias (thigh), while Victor Osimhen (muscular) and Bartosz Bereszynski (ligament) are unavailable for the visitors.
Pioli underlined the key areas that he hopes will lead to the Rossoneri repeating their triumph against Napoli.
"Two essential characteristics are needed: quality of play in control of the game and the ball and the defensive attitude of individual players with pressure on the opponents," he said.
Spalletti insists his players will be better motivated against Milan on this occasion after claiming the defending league champions were more driven to succeed last time out.
"We know that Milan went into the game with the fear of losing it and we with the belief that it could be a fill-in match to reach the Champions League. And this made the difference in terms of motivation," he said.
"I simply spoke to the team and everyone is even more aware than me of having shown less motivation against Milan on Sunday. They have shown that they are the reigning champions, we have not fully shown that we are the leaders.
"But it's certain that we don't give up anything, I've been behind the ball for years and I know that sometimes there are holes on the course."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Meetings)
Matches - 5
AC Milan - 2
Napoli - 3
Draws - 0
UEFA Champions League fixtures:
Tuesday, April 11
20h00: Benfica v Inter Milan
20h00: Manchester City v Bayern Munich
Wednesday, April 12
20h00: Real Madrid v Chelsea
20h00: AC Milan v Napoli
Top the leaderboard and stand to win big
Beat the Odds this season and you could win the ₦500,000 grand prize.
Sign up at Betway and enjoy solid action & heart-racing thrills when you bet on soccer
For all the latest sports news, betting tips and promotions follow Betway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Download the Betway App.