On Tuesday, Napoli will take on AC Milan at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples for what is expected to be one of the highly anticipated duels of the season. You can only watch the Champions League match on Paramount+. The Rossoneri won 1-0 in the quarter-final first leg thanks to Ismael Bennacer’s goal, but will have to play a heated second leg in the same stadium where they won 4-0 two weeks ago. The winning team of this quarter-final will face the winner of Inter vs. Benfica, with Inter coming home with a two-goal lead, meaning we could be on our way to the first all-Italian semi-final in 20 years after the 2003 Milan derby.
Napoli will have striker Victor Osimhen back in the squad, but Luciano Spalletti’s side will face two key absentees: defender Kim-min Jae and midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa are both suspended and will miss Tuesday’s second leg. The question is, will Napoli be able to cope with these important absences and how can they do it?
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Kim Min-Jae’s importance to Napoli’s defence
Korean centre-back Kim Min-Jae arrived in the summer of 2022 after Napoli had to replace club legend Kalidou Koulibaly who joined Chelsea in the same transfer window. The Azzurri, rightly, considered him the perfect replacement for such an important player and immediately paid Fenerbahce the release clause of €19 million. Kim arrived and immediately became a starter for Spalletti. His impact was outstanding, making 39 appearances in all competitions and always starting, except for a Coppa Italia defeat to Cremonese.
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Kim showed his potential with his speed and power and became one of the top three Serie A defenders this year. It is no coincidence that Spalletti always started him and Napoli is the best Serie A defense this year with only 20 goals conceded in 30 games. He also showed the character it takes to be a starter in crucial games, as he did this season in the Champions League group stage at Anfield against Liverpool or against Ajax.
The Korean defender has only played in Europe for the past two seasons, before that he came from the Chinese Super League. However, it is clear that we are witnessing the explosion of this high-level defender and we shouldn’t be surprised if other European clubs come knocking this summer, given that he has a €45m release clause in his contract. which is only valid for clubs outside Italy.
Former Inter and AS Roma defender Juan Jesus will replace Kim in what will be a very difficult task. In fact, the Brazilian defender has to replace one of the best players on the roster, but Spalletti has a lot of faith in him. However, Juan Jesus only started ten games this year and only once in the Champions League at home against Ajax. Therefore, the role of defender Amir Rrhamani will be crucial on Tuesday. The Kosovo central defender, who thrives alongside Kim, will have to lead the defense line and will have to do without his regular team-mate. Despite the fact that AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud is not in his best form at the moment, this encounter will probably be crucial in finding out how Napoli, if they can, cope without Kim.
What brings Andre-Frank Zmabo Anguissa to midfield
The absence of midfielder Zambo Anguissa will also be a key factor. The former Fulham player was shown a red card in the first leg and will not be available at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Tuesday. The loss of both Kim and Anguissa will be a big deal for Spalletti, who will do without two of the more physical players in the center of the field, the ones who have helped Napoli improve their defensive performance this season, but who are also hugely important when Napoli has the ball.
Anguissa has been a leading midfielder this season and his impact has been absolutely crucial in determining the success of Spalletti’s side this year. Anguissa has played 37 games so far. He has missed just three games so far due to a muscle injury and these numbers clearly show how crucial he is to Spalletti and this team that patrols the right side of central midfield.
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Without him, Napoli will probably play Tanguy Ndombele with Piotr Zielinski and Stanislav Lobotka as starters in the 4-3-3. However, Ndombele has started just nine games in all competitions this season and cannot guarantee Anguissa’s efficiency defensively. It is clear that Napoli will be weakened by this crucial absence, but Spalletti has no other options
It is possible that Napoli would rather play on the wings than concentrate on the central midfield, as they like to do when Anguissa plays. With Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Hirving Lozano or Matteo Politano on the wings, the home side can concentrate more on a one-on-one against AC Milan’s full-backs. However, it is likely that the Rossoneri prefer to wait for the opponents in their defensive side and play more on the counter-attack, taking advantage of Rafael Leao and Brahim Diaz’s pace as happened (and worked perfectly) in the first leg.
Napoli must perform and score at least two goals if they want to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League. Even if the first leg showed that it won’t be easy, Napoli have shown this season that anything is possible with Maradona, regardless of which players are not there.
Projected Setups
Naples XI: takes; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Ndombele, Lobotka, Zielinski; Lozano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.
AC Milan XI: Maignan; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Theo Hernandez; Krunic, Tonali; Diaz, Bennacer, Leao; Giroud.