Napoli will hope to stay relevant in the Serie A title defence after back-to-back damaging defeats, with Fiorentina being the next visitors.
Antonio Conte remains a man of mystery, and probably nobody can answer why he always tends to fail in Europe and in his second season in general. History repeated itself with regards to continental challenges, as Napoli crashed out of the Champions League following a home defeat at the hands of Chelsea, which saw them finish the group phase outside of the top 24 ahead of the Serie A clash with Fiorentina.
On their Serie A title defence, Napoli were thoroughly beaten by rivals Juventus last weekend, which may have left a sour taste for Conte to recover from. The Bianconeri closed the gap to Napoli to just a single point, although the defending champions are now an incredible nine points off leaders Inter Milan.
The gap in itself seems large enough for anyone to recover, let alone an injury-ravaged Napoli side, and Conte might look to focus on finishing in the top four moving forward. They are unbeaten in 21 league games at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, as they could potentially match their own record at this venue set between 2015-2016, and that would be the order of business for the beleaguered Conte.
Fiorentina have shown plenty of resurgence over the last many weeks; they might eventually be able to dodge the threat of relegation. However, they did lose on home soil to Cagliari, ensuring they stayed inside the relegation zone with a point separating them from 17th-placed Lecce.
Catching Lecce remains their next best hope of beating the drop, but Paolo Vanoli will be buoyed by their overall form in 2026 following a disastrous start to the season. The only caveat might be juggling the league campaign together with their UEFA Europa Conference League commitments, but at the moment La Viola are on an upward curve to beat the drop.
Team News & Tactics
Napoli
Ahead of the visit of Fiorentina, Napoli continue to endure an injury crisis that has seen many of their key men missing from action over the last many weeks. The return of Romelu Lukaku to fitness might be a boost of sorts, but the Belgian is yet to regain top fitness levels and might once again start on the bench.
Among those missing out are Kevin De Bruyne, Billy Gilmour, David Neres, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Pasquale Mazzocchi are injured. There’s also an injury to goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, although fit again keeper Alex Meret has since replaced the Serbian between the posts.
Antonio Conte might persist with a back three of Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Alessandro Buongiorno and Juan Jesus. Miguel Gutierrez and Leonardo Spinazzola will feature in the wing-back roles, with midfielders Stanislav Lobotka and Scott McTominay squeezed between those wide men. Eljif Elmas could start on the right side of the attack, with Antonio Vergara, fresh from his first goal for Napoli in midweek, stationed on the left wing.
Rasmus Hojlund, who has not scored in six league outings, will continue to lead the line at least until Lukaku gets himself in top condition. The Dane is the only fully fit striker option following Lorenzo Lucca’s departure a few days ago to Nottingham Forest.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Buongiorno, Jesus; Gutierrez, McTominay, Lobotka, Spinazzola; Elmas, Hojlund, Vergara
Fiorentina
Paolo Vanoli also has a few key stars missing out with injuries, with Tariq Lamptey, Fabiano Parisi, and key striker Moise Kean missing out of action for this upcoming trip to Naples. It is Naples-born midfielder Rolando Mandragora who is Fiorentina’s top scorer in Serie A with six strikes this term, as their forward line continues to misfire.
There will also be a place for Roberto Piccoli, who has two goals in his last three games, as he could lead the line for Fiorentina against Napoli. There are also some concerns with Piccoli’s absolute fitness with the attacker juggling with a muscle problem, but he might still start for La Viola.
Vanoli might persist with a back four, while Nicolo Fagioli will marshal the midfield-three with Rolando Mandragora and Cher Ndour operating on either side in the middle. Former Leeds United star, Jack Harrison, will feature on the right, with Jacopo Fazzini and Piccoli completing the frontline for Fiorentina against Napoli.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): de Gea; Fortini, Ranieri, Comuzzo, Gosens; Mandragora, Fagioli, Ndour; Harrison, Piccoli, Fazzini
Key Stats
- Napoli have scored at least two goals in their last five matches against Fiorentina in all competitions.
- Napoli are unbeaten at home in their last 21 games in the league.
- Fiorentina have only secured one victory away from home all season.
- Fiorentina have kept just one clean sheet across 11 league meetings with Napoli.
Player to Watch
Rasmus Hojlund
Napoli’s centre-forward went missing in yet another game when he was desperately needed and could have made a stellar mark had he put in a top performance against Chelsea. Hojlund has seen a massive dip in his form, having gone the last six games without a goal.
In a time of adversity where Antonio Conte is failing to find solutions owing to an injury crisis at the club, stars like Hojlund have failed to turn up. Ahead of this home clash against Fiorentina, the Dane might want to bring his A-game to the fore and keep Napoli’s slim title hopes alive.
Prediction
Napoli 2-1 Fiorentina
A relegation-threatened Fiorentina side have taken one less point than title-chasing Napoli over the course of the last seven league games, which shows the form of these two teams. However, coming to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, La Viola are the underdogs to get a result, and Antonio Conte will be looking for a response from his team over their recent adversity.
Napoli are certainly under pressure to stay relevant in the title race, albeit only having slim hopes of a revival. Conte will want to see if his team responds, and despite an injury crisis, they are better equipped to get three points on home soil against a relegation-threatened side.
