Napoli vs Atalanta 23/04/19

23 April 2019

Rocked by a disappointing Europa League elimination to Arsenal, Napoli return to the Serie A action as they host Atalanta to the Stadio San Paolo.

The hosts have already lost a mathematical chance of closing the gap on Juventus, who claimed the league title after beating Fiorentina. However, sitting second in the table Gli Azzurri have practically secured the Champions League promotion although they’ve endured mixed fortunes in the recent period. Carlo Ancelotti’s men have pulled off just one win in their last three SA outings (W1, D1, L1) with all three of those games featuring goals on both ends. Although the Partenopei have established themselves as one of the toughest hosts in the Italian top tier, a run of poor form in the recent period has seen them clinch barely one triumph in four of their previous SA home meetings (W1, D2, L1) with Ancelotti’s players scoring one goal or less in all three games they’ve failed to close in their favor.

On the other hand, the visitors currently reside sixth in the table and have a chance to match fourth-placed AC Milan’s point tally should they manage to win here. Although unbeaten in all eight of their previous SA games (W4, D4), La Dea go into this encounter off the back of two straight league goalless draws, including a disappointing one with Empoli last time out. Interestingly, nine of Atalanta’s last 12 SA away fixtures have featured over 2.5 goals, with Gli Orobici netting 2+ match goals eight times in the process. A potential worry for the traveling side could be the fact that Gian Piero Gasperini’s men have failed to preserve a clean slate on 13 of 12 SA road clashes, allowing over 1.5 match goals eight times along the way. Furthermore, Atalanta have managed to keep a clean sheet just once in ten of their previous H2H meetings with Napoli at this venue, conceding 2+ match goals six times in that period.