Serie A Preview: Napoli vs Fiorentina – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

One of the most handsomely-looking fixtures in this weekend’s Serie A program pits Napoli and Fiorentina against each other at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Both teams desperately need points to consolidate their lofty ambitions, with the hosts bidding to dethrone Inter in Antonio Conte’s first season in charge.

After Inter’s heroics against Monza last night, Napoli must take three points to stay relevant in the Scudetto race. Indeed, Inter overturned a two-goal deficit to beat the division’s bottom-placed team 3-2 at the San Siro and steer four points away from Conte’s team.

Napoli could’ve overtaken the Nerazzurri at the top last weekend. However, they could only manage a 1-1 draw on this ground despite outplaying Simone Inzaghi’s charges, especially in the second half. Philip Billing’s equalizer off the bench won them a point in the end, even though Inter finished the second half without a shot on goal.

On the other hand, Fiorentina claimed a morale-boosting 1-0 home triumph against bottom-half Lecce last weekend, courtesy of Robin Gosens’ early strike. It could’ve been a more comprehensive win had Lucas Beltran not squandered a penalty in the second half.

Nonetheless, Raffaele Palladino’s side bounced back from a dismal three-match losing run in Serie A to end the previous round only two points adrift of sixth-placed Bologna. With that in mind, avoiding defeat in Naples is imperative for La Viola as they bid to qualify for European competition for the fourth season on the trot.

Match Preview

Napoli

Conte has re-established Napoli as a genuine title contender in Serie A following an embarrassing 2023/24 season. However, he’s now enduring his worst spell as a manager. Indeed, Napoli’s five-game winless league streak (D4, L1) stands as Conte’s longest wait for a win in his managerial career across Europe’s top-five divisions.

With third-placed Atalanta breathing down their necks, Napoli can’t afford another slip-up here. That’s far from a foregone conclusion, considering their last two home league outings have yielded identical 1-1 stalemates against Inter and Udinese, putting them at risk of drawing three successive home league matches for the first time since October 2010.

On a positive note, Napoli thrashed Fiorentina 3-0 in January’s reverse fixture. Therefore, they could take advantage of their visitors’ rough patch to complete their first league double over the Tuscan outfit since 2020/21. Yet, alternating between winning and losing across their last six league meetings on this ground doesn’t bode well (W3, L3).

Fiorentina

Fiorentina secured a comfortable 3-1 victory in last season’s corresponding fixture and could beat Napoli in back-to-back away league encounters for the first time since 1995. However, their recent away form casts doubt on their quest to achieve this piece of club history as they’ve lost three consecutive away games in all competitions.

If it’s any consolation, each defeat in that sequence came by a single-goal margin, including a 3-2 loss at Panathinaikos in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday. That result marked La Viola’s fourth defeat in five away games (W1), and, as a result, seeing them drop out of Serie A’s top six.

These are critical moments for Fiorentina’s season, with their next three league matches coming against sides starting the round in the top four. Palladino must find a cure for La Viola’s travel sickness to prevent further downfall. Confidence comes from the visitors’ decent openings, as they’re the only Serie A team this season yet to concede in the first 15 minutes of play.

Team News

Like in the Inter game, Napoli will be without first-team stars Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and David Neres. Backup wingback Pasquale Mazzocchi is also on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku is only one goal away from hitting double digits in one of Europe’s top five leagues for a 12th season.

As for Fiorentina, Andrea Colpani and Michael Folorunsho are in the treatment room. Moreover, Rolando Mandragora and Nicolo Zaniolo must serve a one-game ban for accumulated yellow cards, making way for Cher Ndour and Beltran in the starting XI.

Napoli vs Fiorentina Potential Starting Line-ups

Napoli (3-5-2): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Politano, Gilmour, Lobotka, McTominay, Spinazzola; Raspadori, Lukaku.

Fiorentina (3-5-2): De Gea; Comuzzo, Mari, Ranieri; Dodo, Adli, Cataldi, Ndour, Gosens; Beltran, Kean.

Napoli vs Fiorentina Prediction

Despite Fiorentina’s recent success at the Maradona Stadium, Napoli should halt a six-week wait for a domestic triumph and maintain pressure on Inter.