SSC Napoli will be keen to rediscover their winning ways when they travel to US Lecce on Friday.
Serie A title favourites SSC Napoli were offered a reality check last weekend when defending champions AC Milan defeated them 4-0 at home. It was their second reversal in the last four league games, and Luciano Spalletti will be keen to address the slide sooner rather than later.
The Gli Azzurri have a 16-point lead at the top of the table and need to win just five of their final ten games to secure the first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era.
While Napoli continue to fly high, Lecce have now undergone five league losses on the spin. This has seen them plummet down the table, closer to the relegation zone than they deem comfortable. While they do have an eight-point cushion, the home side will be wary of being sucked into a dogfight in the fag end of the season unless results pick up.
While home comfort will be a boost, Marco Baroni’s side could not have asked for a tougher game to break their losing streak. Spalletti and co. will be keen to bounce back following the Milan game and will be hoping for a quick start.
On paper, the visitors are the clear favourites both in terms of form and quality. While it is difficult to see Napoli lose, they could be in for a difficult time given Lecce’s predicament. Either way, they should be expected to take another step towards a long-awaited Serie A crown.ย The Hard Tackle looks at how both sides could line up on the night and what tactics they might employ.
Team News & Tactics
US Lecce
#LecceNapoli #SerieATIM ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ per la gara di domani pomeriggio al Via del Mare #avantilecce pic.twitter.com/OBY0XEDSHM
— U.S. Lecce (@OfficialUSLecce) April 6, 2023
Kastriot Dermaku and Marin Pongracic will be absent for the home side as they seek to improve their fortunes. The poor run of form could see Marco Baroni ring in the changes on the night. It is not all bad news as Samuel Umtiti and Youssef Maleh have served out their bans and are available to return to action. The latter is expected to take the suspended Alexis Blin in the midfield.
Lecce’s form has fallen off a cliff and their attack in particular has flattered to deceive. In fact, they failed to score in the last five games, going as far as failing to muster a shot on target against Empoli last time around.
A similar showing is unlikely to impress the fans at the Via Del Male and that could work in Napoli’s favour. The visitors have the best attack and the second-best defence in the league, making Lecce’s task all the more difficult.
A 4-3-3 appears to be the formation on the day with Wladimiro Falcone in goal. He will be protected by the backline of Valentin Gendrey, Federico Baschirotto, Samuel Umtiti and Antonino Gallo. The quartet will be pleased not to face Victor Osimhen, but Kvicha Kvaratskhelia represents a major threat.
Morten Hjulmand should occupy the key role in central midfield with Youssef Maleh and Thorir Johann Helgason flanking him in the middle of the park. The trio are likely to play a narrow formation, giving the Napoli midfield little space to manoeuvre in.
Gabriel Strefezza, Lorenzo Colombo and Assan Ceesay should start up front, aiming to end the club’s five-game wait for a goal.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Falcone; Gendrey, Baschirotto, Umtiti, Gallo, Maleh, Hjulmand, Helgason; Strefezza, Colombo, Ceesay
SSC Napoli
The visitors will be without star striker and top scorer Victor Osimhen who continues to recover from injury. Luciano Spalletti has an otherwise fully fit squad and will be pleased to have Hirving Lozano and Giacomo Raspadori back in contention to feature.
With the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals set to take place next week, Napoli could also rotate their squad by bringing in Bartosz Bereszynski, Tanguy Ndombele and Eljif Elmas.
Spalletti will be keen to retain his 4-3-3 formation despite the loss to AC Milan. Alex Meret should start in goal behind the back four of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Kim Min-jae and Mario Rui.
Our squad for #LecceNapoli ๐
๐ #ForzaNapoliSempre pic.twitter.com/1DGm5l96Et
— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli) April 6, 2023
Stanislav Lobotka should hold the fort in the middle of the park with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Piotr Zielinski. Hirving Lozano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia should offer width and also craft opportunities in the final third as Giovanni Simeone will start upfront in place of injured Napoli ace Victor Osimhen.
Despite the Nigerian ace’s absence, the presence of Kvaratskhelia should swing the tie in the visitors’ favour. He continues to draw attention from several of Europe’s top teams and will be keen to avoid Napoli slipping up with the title within reach.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Lozano, Simeone, Kvaratskhelia
Key Stats
- If Lecce avoid defeat on the night, it will be the first time they will have gone unbeaten against Napoli over the course of a Serie A season since 2000/2001.
- Lecce have failed to keep a clean sheet against Napoli in the league since 1997.
- Another shutout on the night will be the first time since 2009 that Lecce will go scoreless at the Via Del Mare since 2009.
- A loss on the night will see Napoli lose consecutive Serie A games for the first time since 2021.
- Another clean sheet on the night will see Napoli become just the second side in Serie A history to keep seven straight away clean sheets.
Player to Watch
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
With 14 goals and 16 assists in 31 appearances across all competitions, Kvaratskhelia is leading the club’s attack in the absence of Victor Osimhen. The Georgian international is a difficult player to pin down and is likely to be a handful for the Lecce defence to handle.
The 22-year-old has been compared to George Best and clearly has the ability to grab a tie by the scruff of the neck. With the Champions League quarter-finals against AC Milan next, Napoli will be keen to secure a quick win at Lecce and hand their star players a well-earned rest.
Kvaratskhelia is the biggest threat to the Lecce defence and an early goal will swing the tie in the visitors’ favour. The longer Lecce can shackle Kvaratskhelia, the better their chances of springing a surprise result.
Prediction
US Lecce 0-2 SSC Napoli
Napoli will want to take another significant step towards the Scudetto title and there are few worse teams than Lecce to go up against in Serie A. The home side will be keen to make a turnaround of their own but the significant difference in terms of quality of the playing roster should swing the tie in the visitors’ favour. Despite not being able to field Osimhen, Napoli should come away with a 2-0 win.
