Prediction: Napoli vs Lazio

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 8/13

Bookmaker: 888sport

Napoli are set to host Lazio at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Friday, opening the 25th round of the 2022/23 season in the Serie A. The game bears separate motivation levels for the two teams, but with plenty of rest at their disposal both ahead and after this clash, neither side are likely to hold anything back.

Napoli

Napoli are, of course, enjoying the season the likes of which most of their players or supporters won’t have dreamed of before the start of the campaign. With 24 rounds played, they lead the way in the Serie A table ahead of second-place Inter Milan (and AC Milan in third) by no less than 17 points.

The Champions League campaign is going very well too for Luciano Spalletti’s men. Having won their group with five wins and one defeat, ahead of Liverpool, Ajax and Rangers, they emerged from the first leg of the round of 16 played in Frankfurt with a two-goal advantage over Eintracht to take into the rematch. To put it bluntly, the place in the quarterfinals appears to have been won already, with all due respect to the Bundesliga side.

Napoli failed to win only twice since the turn of the year, but their last-six run represents a 100% record. They beat AS Roma at home by 2-1, Spezia away by 0-3, Cremonese at home by 3-0, Sassuolo away by 0-2, Eintracht in Frankfurt by 0-2, and Empoli away, also by 0-2.

Striker Victor Osimhen and winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are catching most of the headlines, leaving defences completely bamboozled on a regular basis.

Team News

Striker Giacomo Raspadori is out with a hamstring injury, while left-back Mario Rui is suspended following a red card he picked up against Empoli.

Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia are both nailed-on starters, and Spalletti isn’t likely to give either of them a day off for this match. Matteo Politano is likely to join them in the attacking line ahead of Hirving Lozano. Stanislav Lobotka and Frank Zambo Anguissa should pair up in the middle of the park, joined by Piotr Zielinski. At the back, Amir Rrahmani and Kim Min-jae should be the two centre-backs, with Mathias Oliveira replacing the suspended Mario Rui on the left and captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo on the right. Alex Meret will be the man in gloves, standing between the posts.

Lazio

And while Napoli make their steady, slow but confident stride towards the Scudetto, Lazio are fighting to qualify for the Champions League if they can, under the watchful eye of former Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri. Having indisputably played his part in Napoli’s rise in the last five or six years, it will be interesting to see how the 62-year-old tactician is welcomed back at the stadium known as Stadio San Paolo back in his days there.

His current team are fourth in the Serie A table at the moment with 45 points, 20 less than Napoli but only two less than the pair of Milan giants, one more than AS Roma in fifth and four more than Atalanta in sixth. These teams look set to compete for those three places behind Napoli which lead into the Champions League, though it seems Juventus, currently seventh on 35 points, perhaps shouldn’t be discounted so lightly, even after their 15-point deduction, as they slowly creep back up the ladder.

Lazio’s recent form has’t been that bad, with their last-six run in all competitions containing three wins, two draws and one loss, but it should still get better if they are to stand a reasonable chance of a top-four finish. They 1-1 away to Hellas Verona, lost 0-2 at home against Atalanta, beat CFR Cluj 1-0 at home in the Europa Conference League, won 0-2 away to Salernitana, drew 0-0 in the Cluj rematch in Romania too book a place in the round of 16 of the recently established UEFA competition, and beat Sampdoria 1-0 at home.

Team News

Due to a yellow card accumulation, Sarri won’t be able to name centre-back Nicolo Casale in his team, and the hope is that Alessio Romagnoli, who missed the last two weeks with a muscle injury, is fit for 90 minutes.

Ivan Provedel will be in goal, with Patric joining Romagnoli in the heart of defence, Adam Marusic on the left and Elseid Hysaj on the right. Danilo Cataldi will be the man to anchor the midfield, joined in the middle section by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Luis Alberto. Upfront, Mattia Zaccagni and Felipe Anderson should provide support to striker Ciro Immobile.

Conclusion

Napoli will seek to maintain their winning momentum against Lazio, and the ability of the visitors to avoid going home with empty pockets is, to put it mildly, questionable.

Verdict: Home win

Best odds: 8/13

Bookmaker: 888sport