Serie A title contenders Napoli will look to return to winning ways when they hit the road to square up against Cremonese.
Having secured the Supercoppa Italiana, Napoli will be riding high on confidence heading into this fixture, and they will look to get their league campaign back on track against mid-table Cremonese away from home.
Cremonese are 11th on the table with 21 points in their 16 outings. Having secured promotion to the top flight last time out, they will certainly be pleased with their efforts as they are nine points clear of the drop zone.
After consecutive wins over Bologna and Lecce, the home side are heading into this fixture on the back of a defeat against Torino and a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Lazio last time out. The game against Lazio will certainly give them confidence that they can put up a strong fight against Napoli.
Meanwhile, the defending champions are third on the table with 31 points in their 15 outings. Following their shocking defeat at the hands of Udinese in their last league outing, they are now two points behind leaders Inter Milan.
The Partenopei have bounced back in some fashion as they ended up winning the Supercoppa Italiana. They defeated AC Milan 2-0 in the semi-finals before easing past Bologna (2-0) in the final. Napoli will be confident about getting back to winning ways in the league. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Cremonese
Michele Collocolo is out injured for the home team, while Federico Ceccherini will be suspended for this fixture following a red card last time out. Matteo Bianchetti is back fit after a muscle injury, while Martin Payero is available after serving a suspension last time out.
Cremonese are expected to line up in a 3-5-2 formation, where Emil Audero will feature in goals. The back three will be made up of Filippo Terracciano, Federico Baschirotto, and Matteo Bianchetti. They will receive significant support from Tommaso Barbieri and Giuseppe Pezzella, who will feature as the wing-backs.
As for the midfield unit, Martin Payero will start alongside Warren Bondo and Jari Vandeputte in the centre of the park. They will look to ensure Napoli do not dominate the ball too deep in their half. Finally, veteran striker Jamie Vardy will pair up with Federico Bonazzoli in the strike partnership.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Audero; Terracciano, Baschirotto, Bianchetti; Barbieri, Payero, Bondo, Vandeputte, Pezzella; Bonazzoli, Vardy
Napoli
The visitors remain without the services of Alex Meret, Kevin De Bruyne, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Billy Gilmour. Meanwhile, Sam Beukema and Mathias Olivera are major doubts after picking up knocks in their last outing. Antonio Conte has a massive boost ahead of this fixture as Romelu Lukaku is back fit and could play a cameo off the bench.
Napoli will line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, where Vanja Milinkovic-Savic should start in goal. The back three will be made up of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, and Alessandro Buongiorno. Matteo Politano and Leonardo Spinazzola will feature as the wing-backs, providing much-needed support to the back three.
As for the midfield unit, Stanislav Lobotka will partner with former Manchester United star Scott McTominay in the centre of the park. The duo will look to control the tempo of the game and ensure they dominate the proceedings.
Noa Lang and David Neres will be the two attacking midfielders behind Rasmus Hojlund, who will continue to lead the line for Napoli against Cremonese. So, Lukaku will be a backup option on the bench for the away side.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Politano, Lobotka, McTominay, Spinazzola; Neres, Lang; Hojlund
Key Stats
- Out of the 27 meetings between Napoli and Cremonese, the home team have only won twice.
- The last league meeting between the two teams took place back in February 2023, and the Partenopei won 3-0 on the night.
- Cremonese have bagged 18 goals, while they have also conceded the same number of goals.
- Napoli have lost four league games this season, and all four of them have come away from home.
- If Cremonese defeat Antonio Conte’s men, it will mark their first time winning back-to-back home matches in Serie A in three decades.
Player to Watch
David Neres
The 28-year-old winger enjoyed a decent debut campaign for Napoli last time out as he contributed towards 11 goals in his 30 outings. He is already on the verge of surpassing his tally from last season, having contributed towards 10 goals in his 22 outings at the halfway mark.
Neres has four goal contributions in his last four league outings. He has been one of their most in-form players of late, and it won’t be much of a surprise if he ends up making the difference in this outing.
Prediction
Cremonese 0-3 Napoli
Cremonese will take confidence from their recent results, particularly the goalless draw against Lazio, and will look to make life difficult for Napoli with a compact and disciplined setup. The home side are likely to sit deep, limit space between the lines and rely on quick transitions, hoping their two-man attack can exploit any lapses from a Napoli defence that has struggled on the road this season.
The visitors, however, arrive buoyed by their Supercoppa Italiana triumph, and they should have too much quality across the pitch. With greater control in midfield and pace in the final third, Antonio Conte’s men are expected to dictate the tempo and create consistent openings.
If they remain focused and clinical, the Partenopei should have enough firepower to secure a comfortable win and return to winning ways in the league. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-0 win for Conte and his charges.
