Napoli vs Roma

Runaway Serie A leaders Napoli and top-four hopefuls Roma are set to square off at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in a mammoth league encounter.

Napoli scored on either side of halftime to ease past fellow Campanian rivals Salernitana 2-0 last weekend, making it three Serie A wins in a row to cement their place at the top of the standings. It’s been 33 years since Diego Maradona guided Napoli to their last Serie A title, but a club-record return of 50 points at the halfway of a top-flight season suggests there’s light at the end of the tunnel. A substantial 12 points clear at the summit, Luciano Spalletti’s men have won all but one of their nine home league outings this season (D1), including the last seven in a row. On the cusp of securing eight straight home league wins for the first time since 2016, ‘I Partenopei’ can draw confidence from going unbeaten in eight of their last nine Serie A H2Hs against Roma (W5, D3).

In the meantime, visiting Roma have hit their stride since the calendar year flipped to 2023, registering three wins and a draw in their four Serie A contests, including back-to-back 2-0 victories in the build-up to this trip. Indeed, Jose Mourinho’s men have excelled on the road this season, losing just one of their ten Serie A travels in 2022/23 (W6, D3) and are unbeaten in their last seven away league matches (W5, D2). Despite their underwhelming H2H form against Napoli, Roma can fall back on a 1-1 draw in this corresponding fixture last season. What’s more, only two sides from Europe’s top-five leagues have recorded more competitive clean sheets in 2023 than ‘I Giallorossi’ (4/5), highlighting their capacity to cope with Napoli’s free-flowing frontline.