Napoli vs Lazio preview

February 9, 2018
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Serie A leaders Napoli will be looking to pile more misery on third-placed Lazio after the Biancocelesti lost last two league fixtures.

Simone Inzaghi’s side, on the other hand, have a chance to put a dent into Azzurri’s title bid and win back some of the lost confidence with a quality performance at Stadio San Paolo.

Twenty three games into the new season and Napoli are still going strong, so it is clear that their race with Juventus will go to the wire.

The Azzurri managed to remain on top thanks to the impressive run of seven straight victories, having shown a great response to back to back setbacks vs Juventus and Fiorentina.

The Coppa Italia exit at the hands of Atalanta could prove a blessing in disguise as Napoli’s Europa League campaign is also set to start, although all eyes at the moment are on the Lazio clash.

The Azzurri have been made 1.67 (4/6) favourites to make it eight league wins on the bounce, but they will not have an easy job against very good Lazio side.

Maurizio Sarri is sweating over the fitness of Belgian forward Dries Mertens, with Piotr Zielinski ready to deputise if needed.

Elseid Hysaj is ready doubtful with a bout of flu, whereas Arkadiusz Milik and Faouzi Ghoulam are long-term casualties.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Reina – Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Rui – Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik – Callejon, Mertens, Insigne.

While they were not able to mount a serious title challenge, Lazio did well to stay ahead of Inter Milan, AS Roma and AC Milan in the race for remaining two Champions League berths.

The Biancocelesti performed really well until recently, but are currently going through a very rough patch that may hurt what looked like a very promising season.

Back to back defeats to AC Milan and Genoa didn’t really change much as far as their league position is concerned, but now both Inter and Roma are much closer in the overall standings.

That is why Lazio need to try and return to winning ways as quickly as possible, although doing that at Stadio San Paolo might prove mission impossible.

Senad Lulic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will be recalled to the side, but Felipe Anderson has been dropped after clashing with head coach Simone Inzaghi.

Probable starting line-up (3-4-2-1): Strakosha – Wallace, De Vrij, Radu – Marusic, Lucas Leiva, Parolo, Lulic – Milinkovic-Savic, Luis Alberto – Immobile.

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