Anteprima: AC Milan Women vs S.S.D Napoli

The AC Milan Women will play S.S.D Napoli this Sunday. The match will take place at 12:30 CET (3:30 am PST / 6:30 am EST).

Here’s an overview of what you need to know about the match.

Possible Formations

Milan (3-4-1-2): Giuliani; Fusetti (or Árnadóttir), Agard, Codina; Bergamaschi, Grimshaw, Adami, Tucceri Cimini (or Andersen); Thomas, Boquete; Giacinti

Napoli (4-3-3): Aguirre, Garnier, Di Marino, Abrahamsson, Imprezzabile, Toniolo, Colombo, Goldoni, Acuti, Tui, Erzen

The Background

The first time Milan met Napoli was in November of last year, and the result was a narrow 2-1 victory for the Rossonere. The match was rather odd, as Francesca Vitale was sent off in the 84th minute for what was deemed a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity. In reality, Napoli’s Eleonora Goldoni clumsily bounded over in front of Milan’s goal. Goldoni would also go on to score the penalty and thus sully Milan’s clean sheet.

Perhaps it was just the Interista in her getting revenge against us.

Milan would get their revenge later on in that season, as they trounced Napoli by a score of 4-0.

The story for this current campaign is that Napoli have lost their first two matches, won one game, and tied their last match. Their first win was against Fiorentina and their last game was against Hellas Verona.

Milan have won all of their matches except for their last one against Sassuolo. The match against the Neroverde provided teams with a template on how to beat Milan. However, to the Rossonere’s benefit, the Partenope might not be as tactically astute as Sassuolo are.

Gianpiero Piovani put on a masterclass, and it’s hard to imagine Alessandro Pistolesi doing the same thing.

A Few Suggestions

After their last loss against Sassuolo, it might be time for the Rossonere to consider switching formations. They might also benefit from benching some of their veteran players. The team should consider playing with a back four in either a 4-3-1-2 or a 4-2-1-3. The team should also consider allowing Nina Stapelfeldt to start matches. Stapelfeldt was brought in to be the bridge between the midfield and the attack, and yet she’s rarely featured in the league.

Milan’s veteran defensive duo of Laura Agard and Laura Fusetti didn’t fare well against Sassuolo. The duo had a few mental lapses and were directly responsible for conceding the Neroverde’s two goals.

It might be best for them to sit for a while and to let Guðný Árnadóttir start in their place. Árnadóttir has proven that she can take on some of the best forwards in the world and win duels against them. And if she can win duels against the likes of Lieke Martens and Daniëlle van De Donk, then she can most definitely neutralize opponents in Serie A Femminile.

It might also benefit Milan to bench Linda Tucceri Cimini and have Sara Thrige play in her place. The new players have proven themselves worthy the few times they’ve played, so they should have more minutes in the league.

However, Ganz has shown that he’s stubborn and too slow to implement any needed changes. He often makes the necessary adjustments when it’s too little too late and after the damage has been done.

It would be a safe bet to assume that he’ll field the same lineup as he did last week and have them play in the exact same formation. It would also be safe to assume that Milan will win the game on the strength of their individual players and taking advantage of Napoli’s tactical naivety.

Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/AC Milan via Getty Images

Predictions

It’s hard to predict a final scoreline, but Milan should emerge as the victors of the match. They’ll need to win this match, not only to erase the stain of last week’s defeat out of their mouths but to keep apace in the race for Europe.

How To Watch

You’ll be able to watch the match on TimVision and Milan TV (Italy only). If you live in Indonesia, then you’ll be able to watch the match on Mola TV.

Milan will also show a replay of the match on their Dailymotion page later on in the day.