AC Milan face Napoli in a title decider as Atalanta look to take advantage

(Football news) AC Milan look to keep pace with Inter who won 5-0 against Salernitana as they face Napoli in a mouth watering clash. After both clubs were recently fighting at the summit of Serie A they face each other in a classic Calcio fixture at the San Siro. Losses against Fiorentina and Sassuolo in recent weeks plus the exit from the Champions League has stopped Stefano Pioli's men in their tracks, but the 1-1 draw with Udinese temporarily moved them two points clear at the top of the Serie A standings but now need to win in order to maintain that lead. Milan have won only one of their last 13 encounters with Napoli in the Serie A, losing seven times in the process as they have not beaten their fellow title contenders at San Siro since 2014, including a 1-0 loss there last March.

Napoli have not only seen their long-held unbeaten start to the campaign gone, but also find themselves 4th in the Serie A standings. After a stunning start to life at Stadio Maradona, Luciano Spalletti has been hampered by a series of injuries to integral players lately which has taken its toll on their thin squad. In fact, since the beginning of November, Napoli have picked up just five points which would subsequently place them 16th in the table for that period – which gives Spalletti cause for serious concern.

For Milan, their key players like Ante Rebic, Rafael Leao and Pietro Pellegri are sidelined but Olivier Giroud recently returned to training and should start on the bench. For Napoli, Lorenzo Insigne, Fabian Ruiz and Kalidou Koulibaly all of these key players will miss out as Kostas Manolas will not play for the club again having agreed a return to Greece with Olympiakos.

Atalanta take on AS Roma as a win could see them go to second place, they can take advantage of AC Milan facing Napoli. Atalanta have lost just one of their last twelve games all told, and such consistency has sparked talk of another improbable Scudetto challenge for the modestly-funded club, who have already downed Napoli and Juventus during the past month. Gian Piero Gasperini saw his side reach an excellent tally of eight wins from nine league outings on the road as they won against Hellas Verona last week. After a run of four losses from six Serie A games had seen Roma slip outside the European places. Jose Mourinho’s side haven’t hit top gear this season as they have not won a single match against the top 6 sides in Serie A. For Atalanta, most of their squad is fit as AS Roma Carles Perez, Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini

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