AC Milan coach, Stefano Pioli has claimed that Napoli remains a formidable side even in the absence of their star striker, Victor Osimhen.

Pioli’s AC Milan prepares to face the Serie A champions at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Sunday.

Osimhen is sidelined due to a thigh injury sustained while on international duty, but Pioli maintains that Rudi Garcia’s team is still a challenging opponent.

“Garcia is an excellent coach and he’s on the right path. He will be without Victor Osimhen but it happened last season too and they still got great results.

“They haven’t changed much defensively, they use a 4-4-2 formation. They still want to keep possession so it’s hard to see big differences.

“Perhaps Giacomo Raspadori can connect attack and midfield more than Giovanni Simeone who I know really well. He is a good striker who attacks the space well,” Pioli said.

Osimhen limped off during the Nigeria’s friendly against Saudi Arabia two weeks ago and he’s expected to be sideline for a month.

In his absence, Napoli have won their two matches, scoring four goals in the process.

The Forward has netted six times in eight outings across all competitions for the Partenopei.