Serie A Preview: Napoli vs Lazio – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction

Sunday’s Serie A action draws to a close at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with a revenge-poised showdown between familiar foes Napoli and Lazio. There’s more than just bragging rights at stake as the home players seek vengeance for a humiliating result in midweek Coppa Italia action.

Lazio put Napoli to the sword on Thursday, running out 3-1 victors at the Stadio Olimpico to end Antonio Conte’s hopes of securing a domestic double in his first season in charge. Lifting only the fourth Scudetto in the club’s history is the second part of the equation after the Partenopei moved to the top of the standings with a narrow 1-0 win at Torino last weekend.

Scott McTominay scored the winning goal in Turin, helping Napoli re-establish a narrow one-point cushion at Serie A’s table summit. However, with second-placed Atalanta only one point adrift, there’s virtually no margin for error. La Dea could leapfrog Conte’s side with a home win against Milan later this evening.

However, Lazio could deny Napoli a third consecutive league triumph after comfortably dispatching them in the Coppa Italia. Tijjani Noslin stole the show with his maiden hat-trick in Italian football to propel Marco Baroni’s side to the quarter-finals.

Baroni’s next assignment is to get Lazio’s league campaign back on track following a dismal 3-1 defeat at newcomers Parma last weekend. The disappointing result at Stadio Ennio Tardini knocked Lazio down from a five-game winning streak in Serie A, leaving them four points below their hosts pre-round.

Match Preview

Napoli

Keen to prove the midweek heartache was just a one-off, Napoli resume their Serie A title charge buoyed by an impressive run of seven wins from their last nine league outings (D1, L1). Conte has based his early success in Naples on a rock-solid defense following an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Hellas Verona on the opening league weekend.

Back-to-back 1-0 victories against Roma and Torino have taken Napoli’s shutout tally in Serie A to nine, putting them on the brink of history ahead of Lazio’s visit. Indeed, keeping the Biancocelesti at bay would see the 2023 champions rack up ten clean sheets in the first 15 top-flight rounds for the first time in the club’s history.

Napoli failed to do so epically on Thursday. However, the home setting, where they’ve not conceded in six of their nine competitive home matches this season (W8, L1), could help them flip the script. On a more ominous note, Napoli’s last two home league encounters against Lazio have ended in defeat, including a 2-1 loss in this corresponding fixture in 2023/24.

Lazio

Back-to-back victories in Naples form part of Lazio’s four-game unbeaten streak against Napoli in all competitions (W3, D1), setting them up nicely for another much-needed victory. Baroni has turned the Biancocelesti into unexpected Scudetto contenders following last season’s disheartening seventh-place finish.

What better way to prove their title credentials than beating the pacesetters in their backyard?

However, taking points on the road on a consistent basis has been a roadblock to Lazio’s quest to lift their first Serie A crown since 2000. Their three top-flight defeats this season have come away from home, though they’ve won the remaining three, including a 5-1 rout of newly promoted Como.

Lazio’s last two away league triumphs saw them lead ‘to nil’ at halftime, creating a sense of early control that has often been the foundation for their success on the road.

Team News

Other than the banished Mario Rui, Conte cannot call upon the services of Pasquale Mazzocchi. With no fresh injury concerns, Napoli will come at Lazio at full bore, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Romelu Lukaku ready to return to the starting line-up after being benched on Thursday.

As for Lazio, Matias Vecino is the only missing player in Baroni’s squad. Gaetano Castrovilli is back from injury. However, there are still question marks over the heads of Boulaye Dia and Nuno Tavares after their omission from the Coppa Italia call-up due to minor fitness problems.

Napoli vs Lazio Potential Starting Line-ups

Napoli (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Mathias Olivera; McTominay, Lobotka, Anguissa; Politano, Lukaku, Kvaratskhelia.

Lazio (4-2-3-1): Provedel; Lazzari, Gila, Romagnoli, Pellegrini; Guendouzi, Dele-Bashiru; Noslin, Pedro, Zaccagni; Valentin Castellanos.

Napoli vs Lazio Prediction

Lazio’s dominant midweek performance only confirmed the squad’s meteoric rise under Baroni. However, it’s worth noting that Conte rested numerous first-team stars in the capital. Fresher legs could make the difference on Sunday as we back the Partenopei to enact revenge on their old foes.

Prediction: Napoli to Win

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