Napoli's upcoming matches in Serie A will have a level of quality of opponents that are more difficult than what Milan will face. Juventus and Inter have recently seen their form improve with successive wins in Serie A, one mistake from Napoli will give the way for Milan to further destabilize Napoli's position in the standings.
Can Milan defend their Serie A title with only half a season remaining?
It is still very possible for AC Milan to defend the Scudetto title this season as long as they can play consistently and win one match after another. It also depends on Napoli's performance, if Napoli declines in terms of performance and loses point after point then that will increase the chances for AC Milan to take over the position now occupied by Napoli. But with Napoli doing well so far, I have a feeling they won't miss the excellent opportunities they have now. Napoli are 8 points away from AC Milan and it will be very difficult for AC Milan to catch up, especially since a big game awaits them in the second half of this season.
Napoli has been playing well and is confident about staying at the top of the table. Another thing that is going to be positive for them is that the team is not going to be too concerned about the World Cup. Most of them are not slated to play in the World Cup, if I understand correctly.
So, that is going to be another big advantage for them. Right now. AC Milan has a really big disadvantage. And that puts them 8 points behind Napoli. Yes, it will be very challenging for them to cope with that deficit. But as far as I remember, we also saw similar types of things in the last season as well, but in the end, AC Milan actually became the winner.