There are 5 games to go until the end of Serie A and AC Milan will face Napoli this Sunday, at 12:30 pm CEST, for Serie A matchday 18.
From this round on, Milan Reports will offer a special pre-match, with analysis, statistics and a special interview with fans and social influencers linked to the opponents.
For starters, we interviewed Valentina Lida, from @NapoliLadies:
1 - How do you rate Napoli's season so far?
"A difficult season, painful, full of mistakes and with a series of unfortunate events. The true value of this team is only now emerging."
2 - Do you think that after changing the coach, they started playing better?
"The arrival of the new head coach (Alessandro Pistolesi) has brought new stimuli and new motivation within the group. Their game has improved. The performance of the last matches proves this."
3 - What is the strength of this team? And what do you think is the weak point?
"The strength is to make a group. There is, despite the many departures/arrivals, a certain cohesion within the dressing room. The weak point may be the inexperience of different players compared to Serie A. This season will also serve for this."
4 - Napoli's goal this season is to stay in Serie A. Do you think they will make it?
"It's going to be tough but seeing the latest outings I'm optimistic. Heart and grit will not be lacking until the end of the league. I'm sure of it!"
5 - In December, Icelandic defender Gudny Arnadottir arrived at Napoli on loan from AC Milan. Are you playing well? What is your opinion of her?
"She immediately showed great commitment and determination. She made to the starting eleven with full merit, ana itconfirms it game after game."
Focus on Napoli's game:
Formation and stating XI:
Since the arrival of Pistolesi, the 433 formation has been the base of the Neapolitan team, mostly with this starting eleven:
Tasselli; Oliviero, Huynh, Arnadottir, Cameron; Beil, Huchet, Errico; Hjohlman, Nocchi, Popadinova
End of season for Vivien Beil
German midfielder Vivien Beil, suffered a serious injury earlier this month (she ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and medial meniscus of her right knee). Beil has already undergone surgery and is out of action until next season. She must be replaced by Eleonora Goldoni against Milan.
For comparison, Beil has 14 games as a starter, 63.9% of accuracy on passes and 11 interceptions, numbers similar to Christy Grimshaw.
The road so far:
Napoli has 12 losses in the league, one imposed in the court (3-0 to Internazionale), 3 draws (San Marino, Inter and Empoli) and 2 wins (Pink Bari and Florentia), sitting in 10th position in the table. They conceded 28 goals and scored 16, with Sarah Hutchet (4) and Evdokiya Popadinova (3) the top scorers. In the last game, they conceded an late draw against Empoli in an absolute belter.
Their goal for this season:
Napoli (9 pts) mai goal this season is to remain at Serie A. They are battling against relegation, level in points with San Marino (9pts), with 6-points advantage for Pink Bari, who are sitting rock bottom of the league. Keep in mind that Serie A is a 12 clubs league, where 2 teams are relegated.
Gudny Arnadottir
Last December 2020, Icelandic defender Gudny Arnadottir arrived on loan at Napoli from Milan. Since then there have been 8 rounds and she has been a starter in all, with interesting statistics and good performances. This Sunday will be the chance to analyze his performance against a team with high-level players like Giacinti, Dowie,Vero and Hasegawa.
Image credits: acmilan.com
