Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Sandro Tonali and Alexis Saelemaekers are among the key players in the imminent Serie A showdown between Milan and Napoli at San Siro.
Milan and Napoli share the top spot in Serie A with Atalanta and meet at the Stadio Meazza on Sunday at 19.45 UK time.
They are without their best players: Milan must cope without the suspended Rafael Leao, while Napoli will replace Victor Osimhen with Giovanni Simeone or Giacomo Raspadori.
Stefano Pioli will likely deploy Saelemaekers on the left to replace Leao, with Junior Messias on the opposite flank. The Belgium international has scored two goals in two Champions League games and is one of the men to watch for Luciano Spalletti’s boys.
The same is true of Olivier Giroud, Milan’s only striker available with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Divock Origi and Ante Rebic still on the treatment table. The France international is Milan’s best scorer with four goals in eight games and has been included in the France squad for their next Nations League games.
He will have to deal with Min-jae Kim, who seems to have settled in well at Napoli, having even scored two goals in seven appearances.
Theo Hernandez will be a usual threat on the left for Napoli but will have strict defensive duties with Matteo Politano starting on the right flank for the Partenopei. Hirving Lozano is recovering from flu and remains in doubt for the Milan game after missing Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Rangers.
Only Mike Maignan has played more minutes than Theo so far this season, followed by Fikayo Tomori, Pierre Kalulu, Davide Calabria, Ismael Bennacer and Sandro Tonali. The Italy international has yet to score his first goal this season but has been putting in consistent performances in the middle of the park.
Tomori and Kalulu will be tasked with coping with the pace of Napoli’s attack regardless of who between Simeone and Raspadori start as a sole striker.
Kvaratskhelia is definitely the man to watch for Milan. The Georgia international is probably the most in-form player in Serie A at the moment and has already scored four goals in eight games with the Partenopei, more than any other player at the Stadio Maradona.
Piotr Zielinski also had a stunning start to the season with three goals in eight appearances and his duels with Tonali and Bennacer will shift the balance in Milan’s or Napoli’s favour on Sunday night.
André Zambo Anguissa will provide quality and quantity, helping the Pole in the middle of the park along with Stanis Lobotka.