Serie A: Will Napoli’s Season Start in Turin?

Torino vs Napoli

Football fans at the Stadio Olimpico Grande are in for a treat this Sunday whenthe Serie A match between Torino and Napoli is the box office draw in Turin.  

After a poor first half of the campaign, Napoli are hoping to make a charge on the top four places, which are currently five points away. And in November, I Partenopei sacked Rudi Garcia before Walter Mazzarri returned for his second stint as Napoli boss after a 10-year absence.  

Mazzarri is yet to have the desired effect, but he will have his plans in place for 2024, while Torino boss Ivan Juric is in his third season as head coach and is aiming to improve on last season’s 10^th position.

Neither team went into the Christmas break on a high, as Torino lost 1-0 away to fourth-placed Fiorentina, while Napoli played out a 0-0 draw at home to mid-table Monza.   

Talking Points

Zapata is starring for Torino

One player the hosts will hope to provide some sparkling Serie A 2024 highlights is

Colombian veteran Duvan Zapata, who is top scoring with four goals, and he has made two assists.

The 32-year-old arrived on loan from Atalanta with a big reputation, having scored 69 goals in 153 appearances for the free-scoring La Dea. At 6’2”, he is a powerful player and still possesses plenty of speed, which helps him to make strong runs before unleashing a fierce shot.

Zapata is also known for his strength in the air, and he came very close to scoring in the 1-0 defeat to Fiorentina, but the Viola keeper managed to get a fingertip to his thumping header.  

Napoli will have to account for 22-year-old defencive midfielder Ivan Ilic, who is having a strong season for Torino since he weighed in with four goals during 2023.

And Il Toro also have Serbian keeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, and the brother of former Lazio star will take some beating at a colossal 6’8” since his mom was a professional basketball player.

Torino are on a good run of form at home, winning three of their last four in Turin, including a 3-0 victory over Atalanta.         

Napoli looking for their bite up front

A visit from Monza just before the Christmas break presented Napoli with the perfect opportunity to pick up three valuable points. Had they won, Mazzarri’s team would have climbed up to sixth place in the festive table, but they remained in eighth as chance after chance went begging.

Napoli had 25 shots and nine on target, but they could not breach a stubborn Monza defence. And without top scorer Victor Osimhen, the Partenopei lacked bite.   

Osimhen has scored seven goals, but he has rarely cut a happy figure this season, falling out with the club over a social media gaffe. And the rumours that he may be on his way out, possibly to Premier League giants Arsenal, just won’t go away.

Giacomo Raspadori deputised against Monza, and he’s a willing runner. But with three goals from 18 appearances, Raspadori is hardly prolific.

Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is trying to recapture his explosive form of 2022/23 and, at 22 years of age, he has plenty of improvement in him.

But aside from Osimhen, there may be a couple more departures from Napoli’s frontline.

Matteo Politano is weighing up a lucrative new offer from Saudi Pro League club Al-Shabbab, and forward Giovanni Simeone has hinted he is willing to leave since he has struggled to get much action this season, starting just twice and has only seen 403 minutes of play from 19 appearances.     

Napoli are fourth favourites to win the title according to the latest SBOTOP odds, but they are a long shot at81.00 and, to reach their first target of fourth place, Mazzarri needs to find a solution up front.  

History

With 18 victories from the last 36 encounters, I Partenopei have had the better of the head-to-heads, while Il Toro have won five, and there have been 13 draws.

Napoli have won the last five meetings, including a 4-0 win in this stadium on their march to the 2023 Scudetto.

Recent form has been patchy for both teams with Torino winning two, drawing two, and losing two of the last six, while Napoli have won two, drawn one, and lost three.  

Betting Tip

Serie A is the gift that keeps on giving with a fierce race for the top four, and both these teams have their eyes on a European prize. 

The Serie A 2024 betting odds make I Partenopei favourites to win this match at odds of 2.36, but it’s a close call with Il Toro at 2.69 and the draw at 2.97.

I think the hosts will be hard to beat and would not be surprised to see a fairly low-scoring draw.   

 

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