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When Fiorentina visits the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Sunday night, defending champions Napoli will be eager to close the gap to the top.
Following Naples' historic 2022–23 Serie A victory, Rudi Garcia was given the difficult duty of succeeding Luciano Spalletti. However, they have had a bumpy start and must close the gap if they hope to successfully defend their title.
At home against Bologna on Saturday, Inter Milan blew a two-goal lead, giving Napoli and other trailing teams a chance to reduce their lead. Napoli will be eager to bounce back to winning ways and build momentum before the upcoming international break after suffering a midweek 3-2 loss to Real Madrid.
La Viola could surpass their eighth-place position from the previous season because they are averaging two points per Serie A game this year. If anything, a top-four finish may be in the cards if they maintain this level of play throughout the season.
We are getting ahead of ourselves, therefore Italiano's team will be focusing on this weekend's matchup with Napoli. Naples is still a challenging location to win, so if the visitors manage to take one or more points that evening, it might make people talk.
Dodo, Yerry Mina, Niccolo Pierozzi, and Gaetano Castrovilli will all be out injured for Italiano. Cristiano Biraghi is also questionable for the match and may have to make do with a bench position even if he is cleared to play.
The 4-2-3-1 system will provide the visitors more midfielders and the ability to change tactics if needed. The starting lineup for the defense should include Lucas Martinez Quarta, Fabiano Parisi, Michael Kayode, Nikola Milenkovic, and Pietro Terracciano in goal.
La Viola won't be an easy opponent, and they've had a strong start to the season. Currently, they share the same position in the Serie A standings as Napoli and have a chance to overtake them if they can pull off a surprise victory on Sunday.
Vincenzo Italiano's team has been quick off the mark this season and will test Napoli's defense. The home team will need to withstand the initial pressure and disrupt the visitors' momentum before establishing their own dominance in the match. The Hard Tackle discusses the potential lineups and tactics for both teams on Sunday.
Napoli has won three of their last six matches in various competitions, showing inconsistency in the current campaign. Rudi Garcia hopes that his team can turn things around soon and recapture the momentum that led them to the Scudetto last season.
Although the home team has displayed promising performances against Real Madrid, their inability to capitalize on advantages reflects their overall fortunes this season. Despite being considered favorites for the weekend's game, Fiorentina is not to be underestimated.
Garcia will be missing Juan Jesus, Amir Rrahmani, and Pierluigi Gollini for the match. Otherwise, he has a fully-fit squad and hopes that the team's performance on the field will make headlines rather than off-field issues.
Napoli's primary offensive force continues to be the Nigerian international, and he remains the standout player to keep an eye on this upcoming weekend. While there have been controversies surrounding him off the field, there's little question that when Osimhen is in top form, he can single-handedly secure a victory.
Lautaro Martinez's impressive four-goal performance against Salernitana has put him ahead in the competition for this season's Serie A Golden Boot. Osimhen faces a gap to close in the race and will be eager to start closing it when Napoli faces Fiorentina on Sunday.
Napoli and Fiorentina, both currently tied in points in the Serie A standings, are set to clash at Stadio Maradona this Sunday after returning from their European matches. This game marks the final fixture before the Italian top flight takes a break for international football. Napoli, the reigning champions, are aiming to recover from a dramatic loss in the Champions League, while Fiorentina arrives in Naples on a six-match unbeaten streak.
Napoli, hosting former coach Carlo Ancelotti, faced Real Madrid on Tuesday night. They initially took the lead with Leo Ostigard's header but conceded twice before halftime. In the second half, Piotr Zielinski equalized from the penalty spot after a lengthy VAR review. However, Napoli suffered a 3-2 defeat as Real's Federico Valverde scored a thunderous strike that deflected into the net via goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Despite this loss, Napoli's recent league form has been strong, with convincing victories over Udinese (4-1) and Lecce (4-0) in their last two matches, featuring goals from star striker Victor Osimhen in both games. This has helped them accumulate a total of 10 goals in their last three outings, indicating a resurgence after a slow start to their title defense.
With 14 points from seven Serie A matches, Napoli's current position in the standings is quite satisfactory, especially considering the transition from Luciano Spalletti to Rudi Garcia as the head coach during the summer. They are currently trailing only the Milan clubs at this stage of the season.
Notably, Napoli has a strong track record against Fiorentina in recent years, especially during the first half of the season. They have not lost in the last 15 league meetings with Fiorentina held before the winter break, winning 10 of those encounters since October 2007 when Christian Vieri's goal separated the two teams.
Fiorentina might not be seen as the favorites against Napoli, given their recent record of just one win in their last six Serie A matches against them. However, their current form suggests they could pose a challenge to the champions.
Under Vincenzo Italiano's management, Fiorentina has gathered 14 points so far this season. After suffering a heavy defeat to Inter in early September, they have remained unbeaten in all competitions, securing three victories and three draws.
Following their 3-0 win against Cagliari, where Nicolas Gonzalez and M'Bala Nzola scored, alongside an own goal, Fiorentina returned to Europa Conference League action at Stadio Franchi. Despite falling behind 2-0 against Ferencvaros after an hour, they displayed resilience and managed to salvage a point with goals from Antonin Barak and Jonathan Ikone, the latter scoring a volley in stoppage time with an assist from Gonzalez.
While their European performance on Thursday was challenging, Fiorentina has consistently started strong in Serie A this season, especially under their attack-focused coach Italiano. They've scored more goals in the first half (11) than any other team in the league. Additionally, they've found the net four times within the first 15 minutes of play. Therefore, Napoli cannot afford to let any Champions League fatigue affect their performance this weekend.
