Milan v Napoli: Key absences point to a goals bet

IN-FORM Marco Di Cosmo (@scioltz) tackles the Saturday night game in his native Italy.

AC Milan v Napoli | Saturday 19:45 | BT Sport Europe

Napoli will be motivated to keep up their fantastic momentum which has seen them unbeaten since an October defeat against Juventus. Since then, the azzurri have found a new enthusiasm, especially after the away win in Benfica in the Uefa Champions League.

On Saturday night things will be difficult for them again, as they travel to San Siro where AC Milan have lost only once so far, and generally have been merciless with seven wins and only two draws against Inter and Atalanta.

Locatelli

Their recent form is not so brilliant as in the early days of the season though, if you consider that they have gained only five points in the last four, being beaten by Roma while drawing with Torino and Atalanta and their only win resulted from a difficult 1-0 match against Cagliari.

Plus, the absences of Alessio Romagnoli (suspended) and Manuel Locatelli makes things even more complicated, as the duo have undisputedly been among the most decisive players of the team.

The latter was the creative key in midfield, and more generally Milan's issues have concerned their defensive end. On Saturday they will face some tactical difficulties to get away from pressing as the young Italian midfielder Locatelli was able to do; Jose Sosa will not be a remedy in that.

Absence

Moreover, the absence of Alessio Romagnoli means that the best defender in the squad will be replaced by Gustavo Gomez, a centre-back who has shown to struggle a lot so far, and that can be lethal when you face Napoli’s attacks.

We’ve talked so often of the azzurri strength and I see them even more dangerous given this situation, so I am confident to back them on a goal based bet.