Napoli, AC Milan, Bologna, and Inter Milan are set to compete in the Supercoppa Italiana from December 18 to 22 in Saudi Arabia for a chance to win the first piece of domestic silverware this 2025-26 season.
The Partenopei are here because they are the reigning Serie A champions, while Inter Milan qualified because they’re the Italian top-flight’s runners-up last term. On the other hand, AC Milan and Bologna are here after convening in last year’s Coppa Italia final, which the latter won 1-0, marking their third Coppa Italia triumph and first since 1974. Napoli and AC Milan will meet in the semi-finals, and the winner of this tie will face the winner between Bologna and Inter Milan.
The Rossoneri head into this competition as the defending champions. Last year, AC Milan defeated Juventus (2-1) in the semi-finals and Inter Milan (3-2) in the final, marking then-manager Sergio Conceicao’s first and only trophy with the club.
Napoli vs AC Milan
Believe it or not, Thursday marks the first-ever Supercoppa Italiana clash between Napoli and AC Milan, and it promises to be a good one, as both teams have been solid in Serie A so far this season. The Rossoneri are second in the Italian top-flight table with 32 points, with the Partenopei right behind them with 31 points.
Napoli plan to return to winning ways as soon as possible after back-to-back losses against Benfica (2-0) in the Champions League and Udinese (1-0). Antonio Conte’s side has lost seven away games already this season. By contrast, they recently completed an undefeated calendar year back at the Diego Maradona Stadium.
The Partenopei recently received several lineup boosts in the form of Stanislav Lobotka and Romelu Lukaku. Lobotka returned to action on Sunday against Udinese, while Lukaku has resumed full training and could even be named on the bench on Thursday. In Lukaku’s absence, Rasmus Hojlund has led Napoli’s attack, contributing eight goal involvements across all competitions. Several notable absentees include: Kevin De Bruyne, Billy Gilmour, Frank Anguissa, and Alex Meret.
Meanwhile, AC Milan are undefeated in their last two games against Torino (3-2) and Sassuolo (2-2) after getting booted out by Lazio in the Coppa Italia Round of 16. The Rossoneri have also remained undefeated on the road, though they have frequently leaked goals as of late.
Christian Pulisic will continue to spearhead the Rossoneri attack. Since the American forward arrived in Italy two years ago, he has notched 41 goals and 22 assists. He will likely join Christopher Nkunku or Rafael Leao in the final third. Leao missed Sunday’s game against Sassuolo due to a knock. Centre-back Matteo Gabbia is unavailable due to a knee injury.
AC Milan have already won 2-1 against Napoli in Serie A last September at San Siro, despite being reduced to 10 men after Pervis Estupinan’s dismissal. The SBOTOP Supercoppa Italiana 2025 odds expect a similar result on Thursday.
Betting tip – Total Goals 2-3 @ 1.98
Bologna vs Inter Milan
After the Napoli-AC Milan contest, there will be more Supercoppa Italiana 2025 highlights on Friday, as Bologna and Inter Milan will square off in the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh for the other semi-final tiff.
Inter Milan enter this contest in high spirits because they’re at the top of the Serie A standings. Cristian Chivu’s men are on a three-game winning streak in Italy, and they’re also through to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals following a 5-1 rout of Venezia in the Round of 16 earlier this month.
Unfortunately for the Nerazzurri, they will be without Hakan Calhanoglu on Friday, as the Turkish talisman continues to recover from the muscular injury he sustained during their controversial 1-0 home loss to Liverpool last week in the Champions League. Calhanoglu was also unavailable in Inter Milan’s 2-1 win over Genoa last Sunday.
With the 31-year-old out, Nicolo Barella and Lautaro Martinez will shoulder added responsibility in the final third and in the middle of the park. Barella has recently returned to form, while Martinez has scored in his last three domestic appearances.
Bologna are winless in their last three games across all competitions, and it doesn’t help that starting centre-back Torbjorn Heggem will serve his suspension on Friday for his straight red card against Juventus (1-0) on Sunday.
Top scorer Riccardo Orsolini will continue to lead I Rossoblu’s frontline, as he’s their leading scorer with six league goals so far this season. However, the 28-year-old winger hasn’t found the back of the net in his last four appearances.
Betting tip – Inter Milan Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.17
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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