Serie A: A Battle of the Champs at Frosinone

Frosinone vs Napoli

It would not surprise me one bit if Neapolitans have just about finished celebrating their memorable Serie A triumph.

For it was a story for the ages; the only time Napoli have been kings of Italy without the great Diego Armando Maradona.

I Partonepei conquered Italy with Luciano Spalletti at the helm and made a whole football religion believe again.

Now they launch the defence of the Scudetto without the man who oversaw a tactical evolution and recruited superbly.

Some of the other stars are still there though and, because of that, they should retain some optimism.

Talking Points

Arguably the signing which made the biggest difference last year was the 11.5 million Euros capture of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia from Dinamo Batumi.

Christened ‘Kvaradona’ by the Napoli faithful, in honour of the great Maradona, the Georgian winger helped to usher in a new and glorious era in Naples, filling the gap left by Lorenzo Insigne quite brilliantly, scoring 12 goals and making ten assists.

And then, of course, there was Victor Osimhen whose 26 league goals ensured he won the Capocannoniere as the league’s top scorer.

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That they have managed to keep hold of the Nigerian this summer is a triumph after a year in which he became one of the most sought after frontmen in Europe.

So was last season the start of a new and glorious era in Naples or a one-off campaign to remember?

The SBOTOP Serie A betting odds make them second favourites to create Serie A highlights and defend their crown.

Swedish international Jens Cajuste has been brought in from high-flying Ligue 1 side Reims, the 24 year-old describing the move as ‘the easiest decision of my career.’

Quite what the club makes of reports in recent days linking Spalletti with the Italian national job remains to be seen.

Spalletti is the leading candidate to replace Roberto Mancini at the helm of La Nazionale, but a €3m clause in his contract with Napoli keeps him tied to the Serie A champions until next summer.

FIGC are unwilling to match Spalletti’s release clause from Napoli and, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the coach doesn’t want to enter a legal battle with his ex-employer Aurelio De Laurentiis.

This could be a behind the scenes development which will be an unwelcome distraction for new boss Rudi Garcia and his players.

Up first are Frosinone who are set for their third stint in the top flight and first in four years, having been relegated at the end of the 2018-19 season when they finished in 19th place on 25 points.

It had been a similar story during Frosinone’s first ever campaign in the top tier of Italian football, when they also finished in 19th and were relegated after just one year during 2015/16.

Eusebio Di Francesco of Frosinone will be keen to secure their first win in Serie A — Newly promoted team Frosinone will face Serie A champion Napoli this weekend

Eusebio Di Francesco has been appointed coach for last season’s Serie B champions, a manager who guided Roma to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018, knocking out Barcelona in the last eight.

This is Frosinone’s third season in Serie A and they will be counting on Di Francesco to help them survive more than one season before relegation back to the second tier of Italian football.

He has signed a contract to June 2024, with a one-year option to extend if he does help them avoid the drop.

The Giallazzurri won Serie B fairly comfortably in the end last season and will be hoping to make a mark on their return to the Italian top-flight after five years. Survival is the main aim and a point from this encounter will be a damn good start.

History

They have met 10 times with eight Napoli successes and two draws.

Their most recent two meetings came in 2018/19.

Dries Mertens and Amin Younes were on target in a 2-0 Napoli success in this fixture, while the Neapolitans ran out 4-0 winners at home, courtesy of goals from Piotr Zieliński, Adam Ounas and Arkadiusz Milik (two).