Verdict: Over 2.5 goals scored – yes
Best Odds: 7/10
Bookmaker: 888sport
The 2018/19 Serie A season will open this Saturday and while all eyes in the world will be on Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut with Juventus, we can’t forget about the other games. Especially this one, as it will feature a battle between two attacking-minded sides that finished in the Top 5 during last season. Kick off is scheduled at 19:30 BST at Stadio Olimpico.
Lazio
Should we call Lazio’s 2017-18 season a disappointment based on how it ended? The Rome-based side flirted with a potential UEFA Champions League return and also looked like one of the best teams in the UEFA Europa League, but they finished empty handed since they got kicked out of the European tournament by RB Salzburg, and also wasted their chance to make it to the Champions League after losing to Inter Milan in the final matchweek of the campaign. But instead of losing sleep over something that can’t be fixed, Lazio should use last season’s outcome as fuel for the upcoming term. Considering they kept most of their star power – including Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – while adding some interesting pieces, it seems Lazio will once again be in contention for a Top 4 finish. Getting a good result against Napoli in the opener would be an excellent way to kick things off.
Team News
Lazio are almost at full strength heading into this contest.
The lone potential absentee will be the one of Ricardo Kishna, who continues to deal with a knee problem.
Napoli
If Lazio are disappointed by their fifth-place finish last season, then Napoli should feel even worst. Even though they finished in second place and with an absurdly high point total (91), it must be said that Napoli actually led the standings during most of the campaign but a drop on their form allowed Juventus to claim the title once again. Things are quite different this season for the Partenopei side, however, as Maurizio Sarri left for Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti replaced him. The arrival of several interesting players – David Ospina and Amin Younes, for example – should bolster the team’s overall depth in the current term. The goal is clear, though: Napoli want to contend for the title once again. They have the right man to guide them since Ancelotti knows a thing or two about winning titles, and the squad looks even deeper than last year. Can they complete the title run this time, or will they fall short once again? For that to happen, they must get a positive result against Lazio.
Team News
Napoli won’t have Faouzi Ghoulam (knee) and Amin Younes (achilles) for the season opener.
As if that wasn’t enough, Alex Meret (arm) and Piotr Zielinski (ankle) could also miss this game. Both would need to pass a late-fitness test to determine their availability.
Key Factors to Consider
- All four of Lazio’s pre-season games finished with only one team scoring.
- Goals galore? These two sides were among the top three teams (scoring wise) in the Serie A last season.
- In fact, Lazio were the top-scoring side with 89 goals in 38 matches. That gives an average of 2.34 goals per game.
- Napoli hold the edge on the head-to-head department, though. They are undefeated in their last five matches against Lazio (W4, D1).
- The last three SA matches between these two teams hves produced over 2.5 goals.
Conclusion
We have two of the top scoring teams in the Serie A last season facing each other. And based on the fact that neither side lost important players on the attacking end, we can expect both sides to be very good on the final third again.
The nature of both sides will likely make this an open game. One where we could easily witness over 2.5 goals scored.
Verdict: Over 2.5 goals scored – yes
Best Odds: 7/10
Bookmaker: 888sport
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
