Napoli vs Sassuolo

Stadio Diego Armando Maradona is the venue as defending Serie A champions Napoli entertain perennial strugglers Sassuolo in a lopsided contest.

Shortly after leading Napoli to their first Scudetto in 33 years last season, title-winning manager Luciano Spalletti left the helm, with Rudi Garcia taking his place. Despite conceding an early opener at newly-promoted Frosinone on his touchline debut, the former Roma boss got his tenure off to a flying start, as last season’s top-scorer Victor Osimhen bagged a brace to inspire a come-from-behind 3-1 victory. Garcia will look to pick up where his predecessor left off toward the end of 2022/23 and maintain Napoli’s three-game winning league run on home turf. Sassuolo’s visit to the Maradona Stadium bodes well, with ‘I Partenopei’ netting 4+ goals in their last two top-flight H2Hs here (W2).

Meanwhile, visiting Sassuolo slumped to a dreadful 2-0 home league defeat to new-look Atalanta on the opening weekend, suggesting another season-long fight in the lower reaches could be on the cards. The visitors’ chances of bouncing back and defying the odds in Naples are next to none, with ‘I Neroverdi’ going winless in their last five top-flight H2Hs (D2, L3), not to mention conceding 2+ goals on each occasion. Defensive frailties saw Alessio Dionisi’s side capitulate multiple times in five successive away league games toward the end of last season (D1, L4), highlighting the potential for another disastrous venture south. Adding to this sentiment, they’ve conceded at least twice on five of their last six league visits to Napoli.