Serie A: Napoli to Play the Viola for Another Win

Fiorentina vs Napoli

Seventh entertains first in one of the biggest matches of another great weekend of Serie A football; and it’s a clash which will determine whether Napoli can stay at the top of the pile.

With Roma facing Juventus on Saturday night I Partonepei will already have been deposed from the top spot but they will climb back to the summit if they can win a third successive match away to Fiorentina. It isn’t an easy task against a side which can be trusted to be in an around the top seven and one which has also had a very decent start to the campaign.

But I’m backing the Naples boys to take advantage of the week off they have just had while Fiorentina have been working hard in European competition. They have hammered their first two opponents but Napoli will take whatever they can in Florence, providing it’s a win.

Talking Points

Success isn’t coming easy for La Viola

Vincenzo Italiano’s Fiorentina have just come through a play-off against FC Twente to take their place in the Europa Conference League group stages. A 0-0 draw in the Netherlands was enough to win the tie with an aggregate 2-1 score-line from the first leg. It was a tough night for Italiano’s men who ground out the result; and that’s been a feature of the Viola’s plays so far this campaign.

In the league, a 3-2 win at home to Cremonese and a goalless draw away to Empoli have yielded four points, but it could so easily have been two as La Viola entered the dying moments of their opener level with the new boys.

But it was a great watch for the fans.

Giacomo Bonaventura opens the scoring against Cremonese in Serie A — Giacomo Bonaventura celebrates scoring a goal with the fans

Giacomo Bonaventura fired in a beauty to open the scoring for Fiorentina while new recruit Luka Jovic opened his account in a game which swung back and forth. Rolando Mandragora scored a 95^th minute winner after Cremonese had twice pegged back La Viola to register a first win of the campaign.

After a difficult spell at Real Madrid Jovic is ready to build his reputation again and if he gets back to the form he showed at Eintracht Frankfurt then La Viola fans can expect another strong campaign.

Can Napoli maintain another fast start?

In his first season at the club, head coach Luciano Spalletti led I Partonepei to a third placed finish, after an explosive start, and Napoli are pacesetters again after a pair of highly impressive Serie A 2022 results, a 5-2 win away to Hellas Verona and a 4-0 victory at home to Monza. If they can continue this form on Sunday against Fiorentina and then at home to another newly promoted side, Lecce, in midweek, maximum points from four games will surely see them stay at the top.

Attacking midfield ace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has three goals already and looks a shrewd signing, following the departure of Lorenzo Insigne. The 21 year old Georgian can also play as an out and out winger and could be a good source of supply for main striker Victor Osimhen, who already has two goals

Meanwhile, Piotr Zielinski with a goal and two assists, both made in the 4-0 annihilation of Monza, continues to be highly effective in midfield and the team is being ably led by new skipper Giovanni Di Lorenzo.

They have landed in a Champions League group with Liverpool, Ajax and Rangers and will fancy their chances of making it through to the group stages. But the latest La Liga 2022 betting odds have Napoli as fifth favourites for the Serie A title, with Jose Mourinho’s Roma muscling in to the top four and so I Partonepei cannot take their foot off the gas.

History

With 15 wins from the last 45 meetings, Fiorentina have had their fair share of victories, though Napoli have taken a bigger share, with 19 wins, while there have been 11 draws.

The two teams met three times last season when La Viola won twice in Naples, 3-2 in a league clash in April and 5-2 in a Coppa Italia Round of 16 match in January. But Napoli have taken maximum points on their last two visits to Florence, winning 2-1 last season and 2-0 towards the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

Napoli are unbeaten in 12 games in all competitions while La Viola have won their last four games at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.