Stadio Diego Armando Maradona is the venue as Napoli and Roma go head-to-head in Monday’s high-stakes Serie A encounter. Both sides are close to reaching their seasonal goals, yet neither can afford to drop the points in Naples.
Napoli squandered a golden opportunity to leapfrog table-topping Milan to the summit last time out as Fiorentina ran riot to claim a 3-2 win in Naples. After Inter and the Rossoneri both won their Serie A matches over the weekend, Luciano Spalletti’s men could face the prospect of falling out of the Scudetto pace.
In the meantime, Roma head into proceedings in high spirits after a 4-0 rout of Bodo/Glimt in midweek Europa Conference League action. After reaching the semi-finals in the maiden edition of Europe’s third-tier competition, the Giallorossi will be looking to maintain their eye-catching domestic form.
Match Preview
Napoli
Napoli currently trail Serie A leaders Milan by five points, meaning a failed attempt to beat Roma could cost them dearly in their bid to win the title for the first time since the glory days of Diego Maradona. However, the six-game H2H record in Naples casts doubt on their hopes of winning (W2, D2, L2).
Home and away, though, Napoli have come out victorious in four of their last six league meetings with Roma (D1, L1). Therefore, the Partenopei will feel confident heading into the 150th Serie A edition of the famous ‘Derby della Sole,’ arguably their sternest test on paper in the season finale.
Yet, it’s an indifferent home form that has held Napoli back from waltzing away with the league, with five of their six Serie A defeats thus far arriving at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. In fact, Spalletti’s men have only won once in their last six league matches at home (D1, L2), while they’ve not kept a clean sheet in competitive home action since early January.
Roma
A run of three Serie A victories on the trot means Roma are flying high at the moment, with fourth-placed Juventus now within reach. Juve’s underwhelming 1-1 home draw with Bologna on Saturday gives the Giallorossi an opportunity to reduce the gap to three points with a win here.
Coming into this matchday, Roma are the only side in Serie A unbeaten in the last 11 league fixtures (W7, D4), amassing more points (25) than any other team in Italy’s top-flight across this sequence. But a lack of consistency has seen Jose Mourinho’s men alternate between victories (3) and draws (2) across their last five Serie A away games.
A hard-fought 1-0 triumph away to Sampdoria on their most recent Serie A road trip hands Roma a chance to win back-to-back away league outings for the first time this season. Conceding first could dent those hopes, as they’ve only won once in eight Serie A away fixtures when falling behind this season (W1, D1, L6).
Napoli vs Roma Team News
Right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo has yet to recover from a nasty knee injury, though he remains the only high-profile absentee in the Napoli camp. Backup striker Andrea Petagna could make the bench despite minor thigh concerns.
Apart from long-term absentee Leonardo Spinazzola, Mourinho is sweating over several key first-team fixtures. Tammy Abraham and Lorenzo Pellegrini both picked up knocks against Bodo/Glimt last time out and they face a race against time to make themselves available for this trip.
Napoli Potential Starting XI (4-3-3): David Ospina; Alessandro Zanoli, Amir Rrahmani, Kalidou Koulibaly, Faouzi Ghoulam; Fabian Ruiz, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka; Hirving Lozano, Victor Osimhen, Lorenzo Insigne.
Roma Potential Starting XI (3-4-2-1): Rui Patricio; Gianluca Mancini, Chris Smalling, Roger Ibanez; Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Bryan Cristante, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Nicola Zalewski; Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Nicolo Zaniolo; Tammy Abraham.