Napoli suffered defeat at the hands of Atalanta immediately before the international break, Maurizio Sarri’s side going down 1-0 against the Nerazzurri at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia. It was a disappointing result for the southerners, who had previously won four and drawn two of their opening six league encounters, but second-placed Napoli remain in a good position as they attempt to end Juve’s recent monopolisation of the Scudetto. The sale of Gonzalo Higuain to the Bianconeri has not yet harmed them as much as many predicted, but a serious knee injury sustained by his replacement Arek Milik on international duty could be problematic for Napoli in the coming months.
Roma emerged victorious from their clash against Inter last time out, Edin Dzeko’s strike and Mauro Icardi’s own goal securing a 2-1 victory in front of their own supporters at the Stadio Olimpico. Luciano Spalletti’s charges were a little fortunate to pick up all three points – although they created plenty of clear-cut scoring chances, they also conceded many to Inter – but it was still important that the capital club bounced back from a 3-1 loss to Torino the week before. While Roma still look shaky at the back, their attacking potency has been impressive thus far and they will probably cause the Napoli defence a number of problems on the counter-attack this weekend.
Napoli will have to make do without Milik and defensive duo Raul Albiol and Vlad Chiriches for the visit of Roma, with Manolo Gabbiadini set to replace to Polish striker up top and Kalidou Koulibaly and Nikola Maksimovic likely to continue at centre-half in the absence of the latter pair. Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon are fighting for the two spots on the flanks, while Jorginho, Marek Hamsik, Allan and Piotr Zielinski are battling it out for the three places in the centre of midfield.
Roma, meanwhile, will be unable to call upon the services of Radja Nainggolan, Antonio Rudiger, Thomas Vermaelen and Mario Rui. Francesco Totti has been in sparkling form in recent weeks but is more likely to start on the substitutes’ bench than in the starting XI, with Dzeko set to lead the line and Diego Perotti and Mohamed Salah the favourites to assume support roles either side of him. Elsewhere, Daniele De Rossi will be key at the base of the midfield, with Kostas Manolas another important figure in the heart of the Giallorossi’s backline.
While it may have been worth backing Napoli to come out on top had Milik been available, the loss of the former Ajax man could be enough to help Roma secure a point at the Stadio San Paolo. A 2-2 draw could therefore be the best betting option in the correct scoreline market, with Salah a good choice to find the back of the net at any time.
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