Napoli will be keen to continue their winning run when they take on lowly Frosinone Calcio on Tuesday night.
With their Serie A title defence faltering, SSC Napoli will be keen to put on a strong Coppa Italia run when they take on Frosinone Calcio in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
Walter Mazzarri’s side secured a 2-1 win at the weekend against Cagliari and will now hope to use the momentum and book themselves a spot in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. Given the favourable draw, Gli Azzurri can be confident of making it to the final eight.
Napoli last won the tournament in 2020 when they defeated Juventus in the final. Having won the competition a total of six times in their history, Napoli are one of the most successful sides in Coppa Italia history.
Frosinone, meanwhile, have a much more modest record and are making their first-ever appearance in the final 16 of the tournament. An upset against Napoli will certainly go down in history should they pull it off. The Hard Tackle takes a look at how these two sides will line up and what tactics they might employ.
Team News & Tactics
SSC Napoli
Having rediscovered their winning touch on the domestic front at the weekend against Cagliari, Napoli will be keen to book their spot in the last eight of the cup. With games coming thick and fast, Walter Mazzarri is likely to rotate his squad and play some of his fringe stars.
With a clash against top-four rivals AS Roma up next at the weekend, it will come as a surprise if Napoli’s biggest players aren’t rested. The most prominent ones likely to drop to the bench include Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Piotr Zielinski, Mathias Olivera and Eljif Elmas are all nursing knocks and should be rested for the night. Mario Rui returned to action against Cagliari and could come off the bench against Frosinone.
A 4-2-3-1 formation appears to be the order of the day for the Serie A holders. Pierluigi Gollini should get a rare start with the quartet of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leo Ostigard, Juan Jesus and Alessandro Zanoli forming the rearguard. Jens Cajuste should retain his spot in midfield alongside Gianluca Gaetano, while Jesper Lindstrom and Giacomo Raspadori should start further upfield.
Alessio Zerbin should act as the number ten, playing behind reserve striker Giovanni Simeone. Despite being considerably strengthened, Napoli should still hold the advantage when it comes to the quality of the starting XI.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Gollini; Di Lorenzo, Ostigard, Jesus, Zanoli; Gaetano, Cajuste; Lindstrom, Zerbin, Raspadori; Simeone
Frosinone Calcio
I Canarini are winless in their last three games across all competitions but are pretty in mid-table in the Italian top flight. They face a Napoli side that has been inconsistent this season and one that is expected to make several changes to their playing XI.
Eusebio Di Francesco will be without Luca Mazzitelli, Riccardo Marchizza and Real Madrid loanee Reinier. To add to his woes, Anthony Oyono limped off against Lecce at the weekend.
Frosinone are expected to retain their 4-3-3 formation, with Stefano Turati in goal. He should be protected by the back four of Pol Lirola, Caleb Okoli, Simone Romagnoli and Ilario Monterisi.
Marco Brescianini and Abdou Harroui will aim to get forward thanks to the midfield cushion offered by Enzo Barrenechea. Matías Soule and Arijon Ibrahimovic should provide the width with Walid Cheddira starting up front.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Turati; Lirola, Okoli, Romagnoli, Monterisi; Brescianini, Barrenechea, Harroui; Soule, Cheddira, Ibrahimovic
Key Stats
- Napoli have won the Coppa Italia trophy six times in their history, with the most recent triumph coming in 2020.
- Frosinone Calcio have never won the Coppa Italy trophy or even made it to the final of the tournament.
- Frosinone are competing in the round of 16 in Coppa Italia for the first time ever. They are already experiencing the best run in the competition in club history.
- The last time that both these clubs faced off in the competition was in 2006/07 when Napoli won 3-1.
Player to Watch
Giacomo Raspadori
Given the performances of Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Raspadori has rather had to deal with the role of a sidekick. The Italian attacker is a solid performer in his own right and has shown the ability to win games for his side.
He has now been afforded an excellent opportunity against Frosinone, and the onus is on the 23-year-old to make it count. How well he can not just create goalscoring chances for himself but also Giovanni Simeone could dictate the success of the home side going upfield.
Prediction
SSC Napoli 2-0 Frosinone Calcio
Despite fielding a weaker side, Napoli still have enough quality and match-winners in their ranks to down Frosinone. Eusebio Di Francesco’s side are already on their best-ever run in the competition and are unlikely to go down without a fight. However, on this day, Napoli’s superior skills should see them through.
