Napoli vs Torino
League leaders Napoli are set to host Torino at the Stadio Diego Maradona on Saturday aiming to make it four Serie A wins on the bounce and keep their early momentum in the race for the Scudetto.
Luciano Spalletti’s side has also made an impressive start in the Champions League and their fans will rightly expect another three points when Ivan Juric’s Torino come to town.
Sitting top of the table with 17 points from their opening seven games, Gli Azzurri mean business and, with both Milan clubs and Juventus dropping points in recent weeks, Spalletti’s team can keep their distance with another victory.
Napoli come into the game on the back of a superb win over AC Milan at the San Siro, while Torino lost at home to Sassuolo.
First versus ninth leads the Serie A 2022 betting odds to the conclusion this will be another Napoli win and it’s hard to argue with that.
Talking Points
Napoli’s multiple threats
The departure of club legend Lorenzo Insigne caused a few nervy jitters to spread around Naples, but they have all but disappeared after Spaletti’s side picked up five wins and two draws from their opening seven fixtures.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta are keeping pace and sit just behind Gli Azzurri on goal difference but Napoli have been here before, marching ahead at the start of the 2021/22 campaign. They had a chance to prove their 2023 title credentials in last week’s match away to champions Milan and they took it with both hands to go top.
In the Champions League, Napoli registered an impressive 4-1 win over Liverpool and a 3-0 victory in Glasgow against Rangers.
Captained by wing-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Gli Azzurri are a well-organised team with the objective of making chances from any area of the pitch and with the ability to carve open any defence.
Midfield star Khvicha Kvarakstkhelia has scored four times, while with three assists, Piotr Zielinski is the playmaker and he bagged a brace in the destruction of Liverpool.
Young striker Giacomo Raspadori scored a brilliant goal in Italy’s Nations League victory over England and Matteo Politano already has two goals, scoring the opener in the win over Milan.
Even without the injured Victor Osimhen, this is an attack to entertain or be feared depending on where you sit.
Torino would take an ugly win
After a bright start, Il Toro’s Serie A 2022 results have taken a turn for the worse with back-to-back defeats and Juric’s aim in Naples is to stop the rot.
With just two goals scored in the last four games, the visitors need to find a way of making more of their chances, but an injury to Aleksey Miranchuk has limited Juric’s striking options.
Attacking midfielder Nicola Vlasic has three goals since his arrival from West Ham on loan and he is loving life in Turin, already hinting that he wants to make the move permanent.
Vlasic had a miserable time in London, scoring just once in 31 appearances with many of them from the bench, and Il Toro have an option to buy the star at the end of the campaign for a fee of €15-M – which is half of what the Hammers paid to CSKA Moscow for him.
Vlasic is Torino’s best chance of a goal but they will be working hard at the other end of the pitch to thwart the Napoli attack, and Torino’s rearguard is not shy to get stuck in.
Defenders Allesandro Buongiorno, Ola Aina, and Wilfred Stephane Singo have picked up seven yellow cards between them. 6’4” centre-back Buongiorno is leading the pack with three cards.
A grubby 1-0 win is all Torino want.
History
Napoli have won 16 of their 34 encounters with Torino in all competitions since 1993, drawing 13 while Il Toro have managed just five victories.
Last year, Spalletti’s team did the double over these opponents, 1-0 in both Naples and Turin. Fabian Ruiz scored as Napoli won in the away clash last May.
Napoli haven’t lost to Torino on the last 10 occasions they have met in Naples.
In terms of recent form, Napoli are much stronger with five wins and a draw over the last six games, while Torino have won two, drawn one, and lost three.
Betting Tip
According to our SBOTOP odds, this looks like a Napoli win at a price of 1.55, but Torino fans will have plenty to say about that and they can back their team at 5.22 or the draw at a price of 3.88.
And for a correct scoreline, a 2-0 home win is at odds of 6.95.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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