Serie A: Spalletti Has a Score to Settle With Mourinho

AS Roma vs Napoli

The Serie A match to watch out for this weekend is probably the one between AS Roma and Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday as the best team in the Italian top-flight takes on an ambitious top four contender.

Napoli – who lead the pack with 26 points – will aim to further assert their title credentials at the expense of their visitors AS Roma, who are four points behind I Partenopei – which is good for fourth place as of this writing.

Luciano Spalletti will also use this chance to finally get his first victory over Jose Mourinho. However, the Special One is intent on making a bold statement.

Talking Points

Dybala still out, but AS Roma have other weapons

Paulo Dybala’s return for AS Roma didn’t last too long as he’s back to the treatment room once again. The Argentine centre-forward played and scored against Inter Milan, Real Betis, and Lecce, but he picked up a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for a couple of weeks.

The 28-year-old is I Giallorossi’s most productive player with seven goals and two assists, so his services will be missed. At the same time, he’s also fighting against time with World Cup 2022 on the horizon.

With Dybala out, Jose Mourinho is hopeful that Tammy Abraham returns to the Serie A 2022 highlights reel since he hasn’t scored for more than a month. The former Chelsea winger will join forces with Andrea Belotti and Lorenzo Pellegrini – who scored the winning goal on Tuesday against Sampdoria – up front.

Nicolo Zaniolo is another player to monitor since he has yet to open his account this term. His campaign so far has been filled with ups and downs, but Mourinho still trusts him despite his struggles.

With a ban expected following his red card against Real Betis in the Europa League – although they’re going to file an appeal – Mourinho would likely play him in more Serie A games to get him back into rhythm.

Meanwhile, Chris Smalling’s goals has been a pleasant development for AS Roma considering he’s a centre-back. The former Manchester United man has scored in two of their last three league games.

The wins keep on coming for Napoli

Since the departures of Lorenzo Insigne, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Fabian Ruiz, Napoli have turned into a whole different team. Luciano Spalletti’s emphasis on strength in numbers has been getting the job done for I Partenopei.

Among the 25 goals scored so far, Napoli have had 15 different scorers – which represents the most by any team across Europe’s top five leagues.

Their young guns Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Giacomo Raspadori, Victor Osimhen, and Giovanni Simeone have been quite productive as all of them have at least four goals apiece.

Veterans Piotr Zielinski, Matteo Politano, and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa have been steady too for I Partenopei. Anguissa, who just earned a permanent move here this summer, is reportedly set to sign a new deal with the club since he’s been one of their most impactful players.

History

Napoli have had AS Roma’s number lately here in Serie A as the latter has only won once in their last eight league meetings (D3, L4), with their last win being a 2-1 result on November 2019.

Last season, Napoli and AS Roma shared points in their two league meetings with only two goals between them. These two sides haven’t drawn for three straight since 1995.

AS Roma haven’t won in their last 12 Serie A home games against top four sides at the beginning of a matchday (D7, L5) since May 2019 when they were still coached by Claudio Ranieri (2-0 vs Juventus).

However, they could win four in a row for the first time under Jose Mourinho this weekend. The last time that they managed to do so was in August 2020 under Paulo Fonseca.

I Partenopei are on a 10-game winning streak across all competitions. Their longer winning run was 11 games back between April and September 1986 under Ottavio Bianchi.

Betting Tip

Napoli were given the slight advantage in the SBOTOP Serie A 2022 odds as they’re installed at 2.40 to win, while AS Roma are priced at 2.88 and a draw is at 3.25 in the 1X2 market.

Another bet worth considering is Under 2.75 @ 1.83 since their recent encounters have been low-scoring. That might be the case again this Sunday, but we do believe that Napoli are going to edge out AS Roma for the three points.

 

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