Everyone wants to trip the leaders – it’s natural. Since Antonio Conte’s Napoli currently top the Serie A table, the points snatched from them are the “sweetest.” Yet, harming the Neapolitans is nowhere near AC Milan’s primary motivation, given that the Rossoneri are already eight points behind, and the eventual defeat would practically mean dropping out of the title race.And when that happens even before the end of October, the fans cannot be happy. That’s when the manager usually pays the price. Hence, Paulo Fonseca cannot avoid the pressure tonight’s derby brings, and he’ll miss some important players.📸 @Gazzetta_it: Probable XI AC Milan vs Napoli pic.twitter.com/MU2BurLl6B— Milan Posts (@MilanPosts) October 29, 2024 Namely, the Portuguese won’t be able to count on the suspended Tijjani Reijnders and Theo Hernandez, whereas Tammy Abraham and Luka Jovic’s injuries open up space on the bench for the 16-year-old Francesco Camarda. Centre-back Matteo Gabbia is also sidelined due to a muscle injury and will probably be replaced by Strahinja Pavlovic in the XI.Conversely, Conte won’t have many “personnel problems” but will have to find a way to wake up Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian netted in his initial two matches with Napoli, against Parma and Cagliari, but since then scored only once from a penalty. And it’s been five games and a month and a half.When father advises son not to sign for BarcaThe offensive crisis is not naive, especially considering the Neapolitans’ previous two clashes, which they won 1-0 – one against Empoli thanks to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s spot kick and the other against Lecce behind the defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s goal.Still, the recent history of the derbies between Milan and Napoli favours the away teams since the hosts won only one match out of the last 11 Serie A duels. They ended in draws four times, while the guests triumphed on six occasions.SERIE A – MATCHDAY 10Tuesday 20.30: (3.10) Cagliari (3.30) Bologna (2.50)20.30: (2.40) Lecce (3.35) Verona (3.25)22.45: (2.55) Milan (3.45) Napoli (2.90)Wednesday 20.30: (7.50) Empoli (4.20) Inter (1.47)20.30: (2.75) Venezia (3.15) Udinese (2.90)22.45: (1.32) Atalanta (5.30) Monza (9.50)22.45: (1.43) Juventus (4.50) Parma (7.50)Thursday 20.30: (4.80) Genoa (3.50) Fiorentina (1.78)22.45: (2.85) Como (3.30) Lazio (2.50)22.45: (1.80) Roma (3.70) Torino (5.00)***odds are subject to change***
