Serie A gets back to action in 2016 with Napoli and Torino dropping the curtain on the first round of the Italian championship in the new calendar year 2016 with their clash on Wednesday night, as the hosts hope to extend their impressive home form.

High-flying Napoli

Following the flying start to the new campaign, Napoli have slowed down the pace a bit in the final month of 2015 with a disappointing loss and a draw on the plate for the eccentric club president Aurelio de Laurentis. Partenopei have finished the year with an away win at Atalanta (3-1), but have previously been held to a goalless home draw against AS Roma. In addition, the month of December began with a 3-2 defeat at Bologna and De Laurentis will demand a swift reaction from the team. Demanding president will not be able to deny the fact that his team has been producing fantastic displays throughout the season, though, and that Sarri’s side are only a point away from the league leaders Inter, who are topping the table with 36 points to their name. In addition to fantastic scoring exploits and fantastic runs from Gonzalo Higuain and Lorenzo Insigne, Napoli boast a strong defensive record of only 13 goals so far in the season. Only Inter have shipped less goals in 17 games and there is no denying that Napoli have been, generally speaking, one of the most entertaining and exciting teams to watch in Serie A. Higuain and Insigne have shared 23 goals between them, which is the majority of the total tally of 31 and the Argentinean striker is also leading the charts with his 16 goals so far.

Maurizio Sarri will be pleased with his current squad situation as he is faced with a clean bill of health for the match against Torino. Napoli manager will still have to do without Jorginho, who is suspended for the affair. Mirko Valdifiori, who has barely figured since he was brought over from Empoli, will step in to replace the influential Brazilian.

Torino slowing down

The Bulls have ended the year with back-to-back defeats to Juventus (4-0) in the Coppa Italia and to Udinese (1-0) in the league. Before the Cup derby exit, Torino have managed to win two in a row and to draw against AS Roma, which let them break into the top half of the table, but the latest loss to Udinese has seen them finish 2015 in 11^th place in the standings with 22 points and a game in hand. The visitors will be hoping to turn a corner at the beginning of the new year, but are faced with a tough challenge that will be difficult to overcome. Even more so having in mind the poor away record for the Bulls this season. Giampiero Ventura’s charges have won only two of seven Serie A games on the road, losing 4 and drawing one in the process. On the positive note, the last league game out of their Stadio Olimpico at Atalanta in November was a success, as Il Toro have managed to secure three points thanks to Bovo’s winner. Torino will be looking to bolster their ranks in January and Younes Belhanda from Dynamo Kyev is widely tipped to be the first signing of the winter transfer market. A French-born Moroccan international is exactly the kind of player who could provide a much needed creativity in the midfield.

Joel Obi and Josef Martinez remained sidelined through injuries and will be the only two absenteed for the trip to Naples. Nikola Maksimovic is back to training following the lengthy spell on the sidelines and could be given a run against the Partenopei.

Verdict

This is a game that Napoli cannot afford to miss out on. Highly attacking hosts will go hard from the start and Torino will have plenty of problems to keep the high-flying Higuain at bay. The hosts will be keen to give their fans the proper New Year’s gift and I believe we could see a comprehensive home win.

Top pick: Half-time/Full-time Home win   2.18 (13/11) @888sport

Alternative pick 1: Over 2.5 goals   4/5 (1.8) @Unibet

Alternative pick 2: Home win   1.44 (4/9) @StanJames