Napoli can fully focus on their Serie A campaign after qualifying for the Coppa Italia final, but tired Azzurri face a tough task against high-flying Catania. The Elephants have been absolutely brilliant in recent weeks and they arrive to San Paolo looking for the third victory in a row.

Napoli back in business

While struggling to meet the expectations in the first part of the season, Napoli have really raised their game after the winter break and the Azzurri are now playing with a lot of confidence. Their six-match winning run came to an abrupt end as Walter Mazzarri’s side crashed out of the Champions League after the 4-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge, but they showed a lot of character by coming from two goals behind to earn one point at Friuli in the very next game. Napoli have since secured their place in the Coppa Italia final with a 2-0 home win over Siena, and now it’s time for them to turn their attention towards the Serie A campaign. Boss Walter Mazzarri is worried by the number of games his team had to play over the last few weeks, but with several fresh players expected to come into the starting line-up, the Azzurri should have enough in them to continue the impressive scoring run that saw them bag 13 goals in last 5 games. Their back line, on the other hand, will have to be at their best if they are to stop the likes of Gomez, Barrientos and Bergessio.

Christian Maggio and Marco Donadel miss out through injury, but Britos, Dossena and Dzemaili are expected to start as Walter Mazzarri looks to freshen up his side.

Flying high with Aeroplanino

Catania have been on the constant uptrend after gaining promotion to Serie A, but the fans expressed their doubts in Vincenzo Montella after he replaced Diego Simeone, who led the team to 13th-place finish last term. The former Roma forward, also known as Aeroplanino, needed some time to make this team his own, and the Elephants started playing great football after the winter break. The 4-0 victory over Genoa helped Catania kick-start their season and despite losing to Juventus in the very next game, Vincenzo Montella’s side embarked on a great run of results. Catania are now unbeaten in last six games and have won four of those, with back to back home wins over Fiorentina and Lazio helping the Elephants climb to 8th place in the standings. Having scored in four straight away games before the goalless draw at Cesena, Catania can be trusted to continue the good run against tired Napoli defence.

Sergio Almiron is expected to start after shaking off a minor injury, but Marco Motta, Alessandro Potenza and Marco Biagianti remain sidelined.

Verdict

It is little wonder Napoli are scoring goals for fun with the Three Tenors up front, so everything suggests their impressive run will continue against Catania. However, their back four will have to be wary of the dangerous Catania forward, and we could easily see both sides scoring at San Paolo.

Our prediction: Both teams to score

Odds: 1.91 (10/11)

Bookmaker: William Hill