Napoli v AS Roma – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Napoli host Roma in Serie A at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday. The hosts sit eighth in the table after ten losses in their poor title defence. AS Roma are in fifth place in the table and have lost just twice in 14 matches under Daniele De Rossi.

Napoli Form

Napoli are having a terrible season having won the Scudetto last time out. They briefly threatened to pull themselves together with a six-match unbeaten run-in late February which included a 1-1 draw with Barcelona and a 2-1 win over Juventus.

Their last six matches have seen three defeats since that unbeaten streak. They lost 3-1 away to Barcelona to exit the Champions League, before a 1-1 draw at Inter Milan and then a 3-0 home thumping by Atalanta. After winning 4-2 at Monza, they drew 2-2 at home with Frosinone before losing 1-0 at Empoli last weekend.

Napoli Team News

Despite their poor form, coach Francesco Calzona barely changes up the XI. Left-back Mathias Oliveira is injured and January midfield signings Hamed Traore and Leander Dendoncker are not really in the coach’s main plans.

At left back, Pasquale Mazzocchi could replace Natan in the XI. Young striker Cyril Ngonge could get more minutes after his January move from Verona.

Napoli Motivation

Motivation has been a problem all season for Napoli. They can’t string together a run of wins and many players have dropped their level from last term.

They will play to win this game against a rival and try to squeeze into the Europa Conference League places.

Roma Form

Since Daniele De Rossi replaced Jose Mourinho, Roma have improved as a team. His first 14 matches have seen just two losses whilst reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League. De Rossi’s rein so far has seen a 4-0 thrashing of Brighton in the Europa League and a 1-0 Rome derby win vs Lazio.

After that win, they went to AC Milan and won 1-0 in the Europa League quarter-finals. A 2-1 home victory followed in the second leg a week later. A shock 3-1 home defeat to Bologna followed without Romelu Lukaku. They bounced back to beat Udinese 2-1 in the last minute in midweek after an 18-minute match after the original meeting was stopped.

Roma Team News

AS Roma are without Evan N’Dicka in defence after his heart scare. Romelu Lukaku has a calf problem and is a major doubt for this match. Sardar Azmoun or Tammy Abraham will deputise.

Diego Llorente is suspended in defence for this one and Leandro Paredes is also banned. Houssem Aouar or Renato Sanches could replace the latter whilst Llorente may not have started anyway.

Roma Motivation

De Rossi can go with an attacking 4-3-3 or use a 3-4-3 shape in this match. His approach will be clearer when the XI is released.

Roma face Bayer Leverkusen in midweek in the Europa League semi-finals and that will take a lot of their attention.

Key Stats

Napoli have won 6 of their last 8 matches vs Roma

Napoli have just 1 win in their last 7 matches

Napoli’s Victor Osimhen has 7 goals in his last 11 matches

Roma have failed to score in 4 of their last 7 matches vs Napoli (Serie A)

Roma have lost just 2 of their last 14 matches

Verdict

This match is very tough to call. Napoli tend to win this fixture, but their form is dire. Roma are playing well but have a huge match on the horizon and a doubt over Lukaku. A home win looks more likely.

Best Bet: Napoli win at 1.95
High-Value Bet: Napoli win to zero at 3.45
Anytime goalscorer: Victor Osimhen at 2.30

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis