NAPOLI

League position: 3rd
Head coach: Luciano Spalletti
Serie A top scorer: Victor Osimhen (12)

RECENT FORM

NAPOLI: L W W W L
ROMA: W W L W W

Napoli would have moved top last weekend had they beaten Fiorentina but a 3-2 loss at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium saw them slip from second to third.

Two-time former Roma boss Spalletti does go into Matchday 33, however, with his side still only two points back from leaders AC Milan, but they will still be without the services of right-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo and forward Andrea Petagna.

As for the Giallorossi, they emphatically put an end to previous disappointments against Bodo/Glimt by putting on one of the performances of the season to secure a spot in the last four of the Europa Conference League.

That was the latest in a string of fine outings for Roma and was capped by a stunning Nicolo Zaniolo hat-trick as Jose Mourinho’s side prepared perfectly for a trip to Naples that could see them end the weekend within just two points of fourth-place.

Possible Napoli line-up

(4-2-3-1)

Ospina; Zanoli, Koulibaly, Rrahmani, Rui; Ruiz, Lobotka; Politano, Zielinski, Insigne; Osimhen

LAST MEETING

DANGER MAN
Victor Osimhen

The Napoli top scorer has 12 goals in 21 league games this season and he’s delivered a number of eye-catching performances.

His recent form is outstanding, too, with a pair of match winning braces in back-to-back victories over Hellas Verona and Udinese on Matchdays 29 and 30, respectively.

Osimhen missed the win over Atalanta due to suspension but found the back of the net in the defeat to Fiorentina last time out, meaning he has five goals in his last three top flight outings.

That was the first time Napoli lost with Osimhen on the scoresheet this season and you feel that the Nigeria international alone will have a major say in the title race.

MATCH STATS

Match stats

This will be the 150th Serie A meeting between Roma and Napoli in history and the Giallorossi’s record in this fixture currently reads as: P149, W52, D51, L46).

With eight of their 10 defeats in all competitions this season coming at home, Napoli are one defeat away from equalling their club record for the most home losses in a single season set in 1997-98.

Since Matchday 22 Roma are the league’s sole unbeaten team (W7, D4) and they have collected the most points of any side during this period (25).

These two teams have scored the most goals from set pieces in Serie A this term: 22 for Roma, 21 for Napoli. Mourinho’s side have found the back of the net more times than any other team from corners (11), while Spalletti’s men have the most goals from free kicks (seven).

Only the top two Milan clubs (14) have collected more league clean sheets than Roma and Napoli (13), but this weekend’s hosts have conceded in each of their last eight league games, while the Giallorossi have kept a clean sheet in six of their last 11.

PLAYER STATS

• Osimhen is only one goal away from equaling his single season best in Europe that saw him score 13 times for Lille in 2019-20.
  
• Piotr Zielinski has failed to score in each of his last 15 Serie A matches and he has gone 14 games without scoring against Roma.
  
• Tammy Abraham (nine) is the highest scoring non-Italian in Italy’s top-flight in 2022.
  
• Abraham has more goals than any other English player in any of Europe’s top five leagues this season with 16 in all competitions.

WHAT THEY SAID

“We believe in the Scudetto, we are in the sprint too and we will fight to the end … The team has always shown they are capable of bouncing back and I am sure that against Roma we will see a great performance.”

- Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli on the club’s title hopes