The Serie A battle for the European spots is heating up as Lazio and Napoli go head-to-head at the Stadio Olimpico. The mouth-watering encounter in the nation’s capital will serve to round Sunday’s Serie A action off, and it’s time to preview the game.
Both sides come into the fixture on the back of disappointing European results in midweek. Following a 2-1 first-leg defeat in Portugal, Lazio suffered an identical loss at home on Thursday as Porto edged past Maurizio Sarri’s men to reach the Europa League round of 16.
Meanwhile, Napoli had high hopes of overcoming Barcelona in their mammoth Europa League play-off tie after eking out a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou last week. However, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and co cruised to a 4-2 triumph at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, sending the Partenopei packing.
Without the distraction of European football, Lazio and Napoli can switch their undivided attention to domestic proceedings. Therefore, the Stadio Olimpico crowd could be in for a treat on Sunday evening.
Lazio vs Napoli Head-to-Head
Napoli swept Lazio aside with an overwhelming 4-0 home triumph in the reverse fixture in November. Goals from Piotr Zielinski and Fabian Ruiz, accompanied by Dries Mertens’ double, sealed the deal for Luciano Spalletti’s side, extending their winning H2H run to two.
However, both of those victories came in Naples, while the Partenopei have lost their last two league visits to Olimpico without scoring. By contrast, they had won six consecutive such fixtures in a row beforehand, scoring a resounding average of 2.7 goals per game in the process.
Home and away, Lazio have lost eight of their last ten Serie A meetings with Napoli (W2), netting ten goals while conceding 27 in return. So it is fair to say that Spalletti’s men are not the Rome-based outfit’s most welcoming opponents.
Lazio Form Preview
Lazio’s 1-1 draw away to Udinese last time out extended their unbeaten run in Serie A to six matches (W3, D3), keeping them within touching distance of fourth-placed Juventus. One of the main reasons behind their promising position in the league standings is an astonishing home form, with Sarri’s side going unbeaten in 24 of their last 25 top-flight outings at Olimpico (W19, D5).
Sarri will have every intention to keep that run going against his former side as Lazio seek their third consecutive Serie A clean sheet at home for the first time this season. While the Biancocelesti have experienced plenty of problems at the back this term, they have been flawless in the front third so far.
Indeed, Lazio’s tally of 31 goals scored after 12 Serie A home fixtures is second to none. What’s more, they have netted 2+ goals in a league-high nine home games this Serie A season. Much of the credit goes to the division’s top-scorer, Ciro Immobile, who has tallied six goals and three assists in his last four top-flight appearances against Napoli.
Napoli Form Preview
After a run of four successive Serie A wins by an aggregate score of 9-1, Napoli have drawn their last two league matches against Inter and Cagliari, both of which yielded the same 1-1 scoreline. Yet, Milan’s underwhelming 1-1 home draw with Udinese on Friday, coupled with Inter’s goalless stalemate at Genoa, opens the way for the Partenopei to move to the top of the Serie A table.
There is plenty of reason for optimism in the travelling camp, with Napoli going unbeaten in their last six away league games (W3, D3) since a 3-2 defeat away to Inter in November. Moreover, Spalletti’s men have kept two clean sheets in four Serie A fixtures on the road this calendar year, conceding precisely one apiece across the other two.
Rock-solid at the back under Spalletti’s stewardship, Napoli boast the best defensive record in Serie A, having shipped just 18 goals after 26 league outings. But something has to be done up front after the Partenopei netted one goal or fewer in four of their last six competitive away fixtures.
Lazio vs Napoli Predicted Lineups
Lazio (4-3-3): Thomas Strakosha; Elseid Hysaj, Patric, Luiz Felipe, Marusic; Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Danilo Cataldi, Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson, Ciro Immobile, Mattia Zaccagni.
Napoli (4-2-3-1): David Ospina; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Diego Demme, Fabian Ruiz; Matteo Politano, Piotr Zielinski, Lorenzo Insigne; Victor Osimhen.