UEFA Champions League Quarter-final Preview: Napoli vs AC Milan

The grid keeps getting smaller and smaller as we finally get down to real business. It"s about time we begin to perceive the aroma of European glory, teams drive themselves the extra mile to ensure they make history and break it.

We"re down to just eight. It all started with thirty-two from all across Europe but now we"re left with eight. And over the next couple of games, there would be an exact downsizing by half. It doesn"t get any better, does it?

The UEFA Champions League is set to return, to take the big picture once again on April 11. With no doubt, this competition will be stealing the thunder the leagues have garnered in the past couple of weeks. All eyes turn to Europe where the likes of Madrid, Napoli and Manchester City slug it out for the prestigious trophy.

Manchester City were dealt a rather tough card in Bayern Munich, Napoli may be on the brink of making the last four being the beneficiaries of a relatively lucky AC Milan draw, Inter Milan would walk into the quarter-finals with their heads held up high having to face Benfica while Chelsea and Real Madrid lock horns in a remake from last season"s quarter-final showdown.

So, without further ado, let"s delve into these four amazing match-ups.

You can find the previews of the other matchups here:

SL Benfica vs Inter Milan

Real Madrid vs Chelsea

Bayern Munich vs Manchester City

Napoli vs AC Milan

Luciano Spalleti"s men are one of the luckiest sides in terms of the quarter-final draw, having gotten AC Milan as opponents. And they are also one of the unluckiest sides considering the thrashing they recently endured at the hands of the Rossoneri.

The Serie A league leaders were decimated 4-0 by Milan on Sunday. At the centre of that defeat was the absence of their hitman, Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian forward suffered a left adductor injury while on national duty for Nigeria against Guinea-Bissau and had to sit out on Sunday"s high-class fixture.

While it"s been confirmed that the 24-year old would also miss the Serie A clash against Leece on Friday, Osimhen remains a huge doubt for Napoli"s trip to the San Siro next week Wednesday.

The striker has netted 25 times in 29 appearances in all competitions for Ciucciarelli this season and at such, it"s really evident Napoli are soaring on his wings.

AC Milan vs Napoli: Stefano Pioli expecting an intense clash

Stefano Pioli who believed his team to have perfectly executed the job on Sunday was of the opinion that the Champions League tie against their Italian counterparts was one more mountain to climb.

Pioli on the Napoli tie:

“When the time comes, we"ll dive into the Champions League matches, and I know what will be said and thought. We were the underdogs till tonight, now we"re the favourites. That"s not how things work. They"ll be two very intense and difficult matches, Napoli are a great team and it"s still a Champions League quarter-final"

AC Milan vs Napoli Head-to-Head

Both sides have faced 47 times in history, with a balanced output in terms of win. Both Ciucciarelli and Rossoneri have recorded 15 wins over each other and have 17 draws shared between them.

AC Milan vs Napoli Key Stats:

• Napoli have conceded only four losses this season. In the Champions League, they have lost only one fixture, a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the group-stages.

• The four defeats conceded by Napoli this season have all been goalless outings for Spalleti"s side.

• Ciucciarelli are superb defensively having conceded in only two of their last twelve fixtures.

• Of the seven wins in eight games recorded by Napoli in the Champions League this season, they"ve won five games by at least a three-goal margin.

• Milan have not won any of their last four home fixtures against Napoli. They"ve resulted in three losses and one draw.

AC Milan vs Napoli key players:

Napoli (Khvicha Kvaratskhelia)

With Victor Osimhen possibly missing out on the trip to San Siro, his partner-in-crime, Kvaratskhelia may have big shoes to fill in come next week Wednesday. Both stars of the Italian outfit have formed a formidable duo this spell, sharing a total of 39 goals between them.

AC Milan (Rafael Leao)

The 22-year old"s performance this season has been rather questionable compared to the MVP award winning showing he put on in the previous spell. But Leao successfully silenced his critics on Sunday, finding the back of the net twice as Sampaoli"s side dismantled the league leaders. A great performance against Empoli tomorrow evening would set the stage for the most important fixture of Milan"s season yet in the Champions League where the Portuguese winger has found the back of the net only once.

Main image credit Embed from Getty Images