Napoli vs Roma preview

October 31, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Roma vs NapoliHaving missed the opportunity to defeat Atalanta on the road, Napoli will be hoping to make things right when they host title contenders Roma at Stadio San Paolo.

The Giallorossi defeated Cesena at home to catch rivals Juventus at the top and they now aim to end a three-match winless run on the road.

Napoli endured a pretty disappointing start to the new campaign, losing two of first three league matches, although they have since shown some improvement.

The Azzurri are unbeaten in last six, and they have just missed a great opportunity to close the gap behind their top 3 rivals.

Napoli were a goal behind when Atalanta’s Luca Cigarini was sent off late in the game, but they managed to level the score through Gonzalo Higuain before the Argentine missed a last-gasp penalty.

Even so, the Azzurri sit mere one point behind third-place Lazio and can be backed at 2.45 (29/20) to defeat AS Roma on Saturday.

It is Jose Callejon who tops the goalscoring charts at the moment and having netted 7 times in 9 league outings, the Spaniard is 3.00 (2/1) to score anytime.

Walter Gargano, Camilo Zuniga and Michu remain on the sidelines, but Miguel Britos is back in contention, while Jorginho is pushing for a start.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Rafael – Maggio, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam – Inler, Jorginho – Callejon, Hamsik, Insigne – Higuain.

Under Rudi Garcia’s guidance Roma have developed into genuine title contenders and they definitely have a great chance of ending Juventus’ domination this season.

While they were very unfortunate to lose to the Bianconeri in Turin, the Giallorossi have shown plenty of character since, having also had a 7-1 loss to Bayern to contend with.

Roma were held to a goalless draw at red-hot Sampdoria, but home wins over Chievo and Cesena saw them climb to the top of the standings, as they are now tied with leaders Juventus.

Team’s title credentials will undergo a serious test at Stadio San Paolo, but I see a great value in odds of 3.12 (36/17) offered on away win at BetVictor.

Despite once again proving his worth up front, Mattia Destro will probably be relegated to the bench, with veteran forward Francesco Totti set to be recalled.

Kostas Manolas should start after shaking off a minor knock, but Davide Astori has joined the lengthy injury list that also contains Kevin Strootman, Douglas Maicon, Leandro Castan, Marco Borriello and Federico Balzaretti.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): De Sanctis – Torosidis, Manolas, Yanga-Mbiwa, Cole – Pjanic, De Rossi, Nainggolan – Florenzi, Totti, Gervinho.

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