Napoli’s last defeat means they risk losing consecutive home league H2Hs for the first time since September 1997, and worryingly, they have also lost two of their last four competitive matches at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Napoli
Napoli may have lost 1-0 to Lazio last Friday in Serie A. Still, coach Luciano Spalletti “saw hunger, determination and humility from my players” as they maintained a healthy double-digit lead at the top of the table. It’s not yet time to panic, especially having not lost consecutive matches this Serie A season. Still, an upcoming Champions League round of 16-second leg after this clash against Atalanta, who defeated them 3-2 in their last Serie A home H2H, adds to the intrigue. That defeat means they risk losing consecutive home league H2Hs for the first time since September 1997, and worryingly, they have also lost two of their last four competitive matches at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. All it could take is a single strike to derail the league leaders, as four of Napoli’s last five Serie A home defeats have come by a 1-0 scoreline!
Atalanta
Atalanta would pledge anything for that goal as they are on the cusp of failing to score in three successive league games for the first time since October 2018 after firing blanks against Milan and Udinese. This trip may help them avert that prospect as the visitors have scored in the last nine Serie A H2Hs, their longest such run against Napoli. On the results front, Atalanta are losing steam in the top-four race with only two wins from their last seven league games, but manager Gian Piero Gasperini is “satisfied” with where they are. His comments could be masking their indifferent nine-game Serie A road trip record that is threatening their Champions League qualification for next season.
Piotr Zielinski has three goal contributions from his last four Serie A H2Hs, including assisting Napoli’s opener in a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture. Meanwhile, Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund may fancy a second-half cameo as his last four away Serie A goals have come after the half-time break. Atalanta have scored 31 per cent of their league goals between the 46th and 60th minutes in this campaign.