Napoli will be looking to get back on the winning track on Saturday, with Sassuolo aiming at heaping more misery on Luciano Spalletti’s woes.
Failing to win any of their last three league matches, Napoli have already drifted away from the race for Scudetto this season, with two Milan clubs now competing for what is considered one of the best title pursuits across Europe. Though, all is not lost for Spalletti’s men as they are yet to secure a Champions League spot for the next season. And finishing the Serie A season over Juventus holds another temptation.
As for Sassuolo, it is all about spoiling others’ parties and getting to a position—better than their current state in the points table—by the end of the ongoing campaign. They are currently 10th in the table but would love to climb the ladder, with only four games left to play in the season. Neither team has enjoyed a great run of form recently, making it an intriguing affair on Saturday.
The recent form (in the last five games in Serie A)
Napoli: W-W-L-D-L
Sassuolo: W-L-W-L-L
Team News
In the pre-match press conference, Spalletti backed his idea of fielding Mertens and Osimhen together. As far as the injury list is concerned, Giovanni Di Lorenzo remains sidelined with his injury issues. Having returned to the training from injuries, Eljif Elmas and Stanislav Lobotka could return to the bench.
Giorgios Kyriakopoulos will serve his suspension for Sassuolo on Saturday and thus will miss his team’s visit to Napoli. Jeremy Toljan, Pedro Obiang, and Abdou Harroui are some of the other absentees for the visitors.
Predicted XIs
Napoli (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Zanoli, Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Rui; Anguissa, Ruiz; Politano, Mertens, Insigne; Osimhen
Sassuolo (4-2-3-1): Consigli ; Muldur, Chiriches, Ferrari, Rogerio; Lopez, Frattesi; Berardi, Raspadori, Traore; Scamacca
Despite getting an early breakthrough in the game against Juventus, Sassuolo failed to salvage a point against the Old Lady last weekend. But, going into the game against Napoli, they will be licking their lips at the prospect of offending the Naples-based side in front of their home fans. Provided the results that Napoli have garnered recently, there is little possibility of a one-sided encounter at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
