Luciano Spalletti’s charges remain seven points behind league leaders Juventus following their highly impressive 3-1 victory over Inter at San Siro last time out. Despite that sizeable margin separating them from the summit of the standings, the Giallorossi have made clear progress under their current manager this season, and victory this weekend would move them a giant step closer to finishing as runners-up in the Italian top flight for the third time in the last four campaigns. Spalletti will not have given up on catching Juventus just yet, though, and a win in the weekend’s first Serie A fixture would pile the pressure on the champions ahead of their trip to Udinese on Sunday afternoon.
Napoli succumbed to a surprise defeat when they last took to the field, going down 2-0 at home to Atalanta to fall further behind first place in the table. Maurizio Sarri’s side have now lost three of their last four matches in all competitions and find themselves a dozen points adrift of Juventus, which is a gap they will not be able to bridge in the remaining 12 matches of the campaign. The Partenopei may have spent most of the season in the top three but they are still not assured of a place in next year’s Champions League; indeed, that reverse against Atalanta means they are now just three points ahead of Gian Piero Gasperini’s charges in the race for third spot.
Roma will be missing long-term absentee and academy product Alessando Florenzi, but Radja Nainggolan is expected to shake off a knock in time to feature. The Belgium international will again be deployed in a No.10 role alongside Mohamed Salah, with central striker Edin Dzeko leading the line up front and Antonio Rudiger, Kostas Manolas and Fazio forming a three-man backline.
Napoli, meanwhile, will have to make do without the services of midfielder Allan, who is still sidelined with a hamstring injury. Amadou Diawara, Piotr Zielinski and Marek Hamsik will be deployed in the centre of the park instead, with Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon set to continue as part of a fluid frontline. A defensive unit which has shipped nine goals in four encounters will need to tighten up against an attacking Roma outfit.
Taking everything into account, it is probably worth backing Roma to come out on top at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday afternoon. Napoli are a fine side who are capable of some fantastic attacking football on their day, but Roma head into this match in excellent form and, with the added advantage of playing in front of their own supporters, should have enough quality to get the job done in the capital. A home win with both teams to score could therefore be the way to go, while Salah would be a sensible selection to find the back of the net at any time.
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