With their title defence in shambles, ailing champions Napoli will look to keep in touch with Serie A’s top four when they host Hellas Verona at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday.
Having won Serie A by a canter with 16 points last season, Napoli have come crashing down this term and look set for mid-table obscurity heading into their match with Hellas Verona.
The Partenopei lack the fear factor they had in Italy last term, and they head into Sunday’s clash having fired blanks in each of their last two matches against Inter Milan and Lazio, losing 1-0 to the former in the Supercoppa Italiana.
After a run of one win in five league games, the ailing Italian champions are ninth in the standings with 32 points from 21 games, and are in danger of dropping into the bottom half.
Hellas Verona, meanwhile, are hovering above the drop zone but should fancy their chances of flustering out-of-form Napoli. With only two points separating sides from 15th to 19th, it is going to be a long battle to beat the drop.
The visitors are likely to improve their chances if they continue their recent form, as they have collected four points from their past three league games, including a 1-1 draw against Frosinone last time out. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could put to use.
Team News & Tactics
Napoli
After being short of numbers for several weeks, Napoli are now boosted by both the return of some regular starters and a few fresh faces: Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa has returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, while the defending Serie A champions have secured the services of Pasquale Mazzocchi and Leander Dendoncker during the winter transfer window.
Walter Mazzarri’s hand will also be strengthened by the returns of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Giovanni Simeone, and Jens Cajuste from suspension, Brazilian defender Natan is in contention after resuming full training, leaving injured starting goalkeeper Alex Meret as the hosts’ only absentee as Pierluigi Gollini continues to deputise for him in goal.
The hosts have heavily struggled upfront this season when Victor Osimhen is missing from the starting lineup. Both Giovanni Simeone and Giacomo Raspadori have not been able to truly impact the squad’s goal tally, with most of the creative responsibility being put on wingers Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Matteo Politano.
With Osimhen still on Nigeria duty at the AFCON, Napoli have brought some fresh competition for places in attack, as Cyril Ngonge, who scored 11 goals in 34 games for Verona before moving to Naples, and loan signing Hamed Traore have both moved to the Maradona.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Gollini; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Jesus, Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Cajuste; Politano, Simeone, Kvaratskhelia
Hellas Verona
Although Verona’s hand has surely been weakened by events in the transfer window with the departures of Cyril Ngonge and Josh Doig as their financial woes continue, Portuguese midfielder Dani Silva was signed from Vitoria Guimaraes last week, while Reda Belahyane has swapped Ligue 1 club OGC Nice for Stadio Bentegodi.
Full-backs Ruben Vinagre and Fabien Centonze could also make their first start in Gialloblu colours. Injured back-up goalkeeper Alessandro Berardi is the visitors’ only absentee.
Meanwhile, Verona fielded recent arrival Tijjani Noslin up front against Frosinone and could do so again here. Slovakia international Tomas Suslov has started all 11 of the Scaligeri’s league matches and scored the opener in their 1-1 draw against Frosinone, so he should again link up with Darko Lazovic and Michael Folorunsho in the attacking midfield trident.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Montipo; Centonze, Dawidowicz, Magnani, Vinagre; Duda, Serdar; Suslov, Folorunsho, Lazovic; Noslin
Key Stats
- Hellas Verona’s Serie A matches have featured an average of just 2.27 goals per game this season.
- Napoli have scored only five goals in their last eight games.
- These sides have drawn 11 games between them in Serie A this term.
- Three of Verona’s last four league games have seen over 2.5 goals scored.
- Napoli have lost just one of their last 13 Serie A meetings with Hellas Verona (W9) while averaging more than two goals per game.
Player to Watch
Stanislav Lobotka
While the Partenopei produced an uninspiring display last time out, the Slovakian tempo-setter can hold his head high as he continues to show signs that he is slowly regaining his form, as evidenced by another influential outing in the middle park despite the absence of several key teammates.
He spared Napoli from trouble on several occasions by moving the ball forward with ease. If the home side want to go on a big run in the second half of the season, Lobotka’s form will be the key.
Prediction
Napoli 1-1 Hellas Verona
Napoli are three points behind the top five and are still in contention for a European qualification spot. For that to happen, though, they need to improve their recent form, which has been going downhill. The visitors will be sniffing blood and eager to prey on their agony.
Marco Baroni’s men do not score many goals — they have just 12 in Serie A this season — and they frequently rely on their defenders for points. The hosts have attempted the most shots this season. But they have the lowest shot-conversion percentage among clubs in the top half of the division, with 8.6%. With Napoli’s forward line misfiring of late, a 1-1 draw could be likely.
Anything is possible in soccer