Saturday’s Serie A action kicks off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as runaway leaders Napoli take on out-of-form Udinese. With the Qatar World Cup around the corner, both sides will be desperate to enter the upcoming break in high spirits, especially the visitors.
It’s been a phenomenal domestic season for Napoli thus far. As the only side in Serie A yet to lose a single league game this season (W11, D2), Luciano Spalletti’s high-flyers come into proceedings keen to solidify their place at the top of the tree. With second-placed Lazio lagging eight points behind, the Naples faithful is euphoric as the Partneopei look destined to end a three-decade wait for the Scudetto.
Despite failing to breach a double-decker bus in front of Empoli’s goal for almost 70 minutes, goals from Hirving Lozano and Piotr Zielinski catapulted Napoli to a comfortable 2-0 home win on Tuesday. It marked their tenth Serie A victory on the trot, putting them on the cusp of accomplishing a historic milestone.
Having won their last ten top-flight outings, Napoli could register 11 straight triumphs for the first time in their Serie A history. Standing between Spalletti’s side and a flattering feat will be an underperforming Udinese side. Unlike their hosts, Andrea Sottil’s men have taken their fans through an emotional rollercoaster this season.
Following an eye-catching six-game winning streak, the Friulians have experienced a downturn in form and will be hellbent on arresting a dismal seven-match winless league run (D5, L2). Udinese made their supporters dream big early in the season, but they now need to be out of their skins if they’re to drag them out of the ongoing nightmare.
Match Preview
Napoli
Another piece of history is up for the taking this weekend as Napoli could win 13 of the opening 15 Serie A seasonal matches for the first time. It’s hard to see them failing to do so after turning the Diego Maradona Stadium into a fortress. Spalletti’s men have won eight successive home games in the build-up to this encounter, six via multi-goal margins.
Starting with a 3-0 demolition of Rangers in the Champions League, Napoli have won three competitive home fixtures on the trot by 2+ goals ‘to nil.’ That, coupled with the home side’s intimidating league-high 34-goal tally, promises another spectacle for the Naples crowd. Adding to this sentiment, the hosts have won a whopping 72% of their Serie A outings in 2022 (24/33).
It’ll take something special from Udinese to prevent Napoli from maintaining their flee-flowing form in the front third. Indeed, the Partenopei have made it to the scoresheet across each of their last 15 showdowns against the Friulians in Serie A.
Udinese
Far away from the dreamland they found themselves in early in the season, Udinese must rally their troops if they’re to stay competitive in the race for European qualification. Sandi Lovric’s first-half equalizer helped the Friulians eke out a 1-1 draw at Spezia in midweek, marking their third straight stalemate via an identical scoreline.
Udinese can at least find some comfort in their decent away form. Since a 4-2 defeat at defending champions Milan on the opening weekend, they have gone unbeaten on six subsequent Serie A travels (W3, D3), conceding one goal or fewer on each occasion. That’s the kind of defensive resilience they’ll need to put on display in Naples.
However, the recent H2H stakes cannot inspire much confidence in the visiting camp. Udinese have found themselves on the losing side in 11 of their last 12 Serie A clashes against Napoli (D1), including eight straight defeats at the Diego Maradona Stadium.
Napoli vs Udinese Potential Line-ups
Napoli (4-3-3): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kim Min-jae, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski; Hirving Lozano, Victor Osimhen, Giacomo Raspadori.
Udinese (3-5-2): Marco Silvestri; Nehuen Perez, Jaka Bijol, Bram Nuytinck; Roberto Pereyra, Sandi Lovric, Walace, Tolgay Arslan, Enzo Ebosse; Gerard Deulofeu, Isaac Success.