Milan – Napoli Serie A Week 5

Milan is taking a solid shape with Allegri at the helm. Milan have not conceded a goal since the week 1 loss to Cremonese. The games have not been against the strongest opposition but the midfield has looked solid and the back three used have managed to keep the ball out of the net without looking spectacular.

The games will get tougher and a more telling run starts with this week 5 match versus Napoli. Between now and early November Milan will face Juventus, Fiorentina, Atalanta and Roma.

Leao is back in training and is ready for match action. The Portuguese might still be used as a sub only. Gimenez and Pulisic may be part of a 3-5-2 for one more week at least. The midfield is offering some options. The primary question mark is how much time is Loftus-Cheek going to get. The Englishman looked like a certain starter and he has backed it up so far but Allegri may prefer a middle five of Saelemaekers, Fofana, Modric, Rabiot and Estupinan. All five have looked good and solid providing energy, skill, leadership and more. Saelemaekers has even earned himself man of the match quality minutes. Modric is defying age questions and with a less than busy fixture list he has time for rest, as was the case in the Coppa Italia 3-0 win versus Lecce in midweek.

Tomori, Gabbia and Pavlovic have not impressed all that much. De Winter as back up hasn’t really gotten enough minutes so far. Yet, as mentioned, the team has looked solid so far. The initial three are set to keep their places but will a back three live for much longer.

Maignan came back from injury midweek but his longer term future as a Milan player continues to be questioned. Look for another possible and likely Bosman exit next summer.

Napoli have started the Serie A season with four wins in a row. However, an important player was added to their injured list. Alessandro Buongiorno is expected to miss a few weeks with an abductor injury. He is joined on the missing list with Romelu Lukaku. Rasmus Hojlund, widely linked to Milan over the summer, is expected to start again for Conte’s men.

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