Napoli's victory tour continues on Sunday, as the new Serie A champions seek a 27th league win of the season when they turn out at mid-table Monza.
Luciano Spalletti's side brought the Scudetto back to Naples after three decades and then celebrated by beating Fiorentina last weekend; meanwhile, Monza continue to pursue a top-half finish from their first top-flight campaign.
Match preview
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Just days after his equaliser helped Napoli become Italian champions for the third time following a tense 1-1 draw with Udinese, Serie A's top scorer Victor Osimhen was back on the scoresheet as the Partenopei's title party took place at Stadio Maradona.
Moving onto 23 goals from 28 league games, Osimhen strengthened his grip on the Capocannoniere crown as he struck from the spot to secure a 1-0 win over Fiorentina that sees Napoli some 17 points clear of second-placed Juventus with just four fixtures left of a historic campaign.
Since 2010, only three players have scored more in a single season for the champions - Gonzalo Higuain (24) in 2016-17, Cristiano Ronaldo (31) in 2019-20 and Romelu Lukaku (24) two years ago - and such prowess has put Spalletti's squad among elite company.
Napoli have already won 26 league matches this season - no team has fared better across Europe's top five leagues this term - and two more wins between now and June would equal the Campanian club's best-ever tally, set back in 2017-18.
In reaching that mark, the Azzurri have won 14 of their 17 away matches, and reaching 15 with victory on Sunday afternoon would represent only the third time a team has racked up that many away victories in Serie A history.
While such metrics may please fans and football historians, only Napoli's relentless pursuit of points has led them to the pinnacle. Three were earned when they thumped Monza 4-0 in August's reverse fixture, and they are also unbeaten away to the Biancorossi in the league - though all of those previous contests came down in Serie B.
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Since their slaying at Stadio Maradona, ambitious Monza have come a very long way, as they have gone from relegation favourites to top-10 candidates in the space of a few months.
After a 1-1 draw at Torino last week, when Gianluca Caprari scored a late leveller in Turin, the Lombardy club have lost only one of their last 10 matches to sit alongside four other mid-table teams on 46 points.
Remarkably, given some impressive surges from more illustrious names above them in the Serie A standings, no team have suffered fewer defeats than Raffaele Palladino's side since the beginning of March, and the former Juventus winger is certainly taking to life in the dugout with uncommon ease.
Three straight wins to end April helped Monza keep pace with their rivals for a top-half finish, and having done the double over Juve and also beaten Inter at San Siro, it seems they fear no-one under Palladino, who has even been mentioned as a rival to Spalletti for this year's Panchina D'Oro - Italy's 'Golden Bench' award.
Team News
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With the Scudetto secured, Luciano Spalletti rotated his squad against Fiorentina, and further changes are afoot this weekend.
While first-choice goalkeeper Alex Meret should come back in for Pierluigi Gollini, who has sustained a minor muscular problem, Eljif Elmas may now serve as a replacement for Hirving Lozano, whose season has been ended by a knee injury.
As his thirst for goals is apparently unquenchable, Victor Osimhen is set to continue up front, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia could be rested again.
Aside from having Andrea Colpani sidelined by injury and Pablo Mari in doubt due to a hip issue, Monza have a full squad to choose from on Sunday. Indeed, Raffaele Palladino will now be able to take to the touchline himself, following suspension.
He is likely to make few changes, but could turn to Andrea Petagna to freshen up his forward line. The big striker has scored three Serie A goals against Napoli to date, having also played 50 times for the visitors between 2020 and 2022.
Monza possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Caldirola, Mari, Izzo; Ciurria, Rovella, Pessina, Augusto; Sensi, Caprari; Petagna
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Bereszynski, Jesus, Rrahmani, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka, Gaetano; Elmas, Osimhen, Zerbin
We say: Monza 1-2 Napoli
With the pressure off, Napoli can aim to end an incredible season with a flourish; ideally returning to their freewheeling style of earlier this year. They boast Serie A's best defensive record, but Monza score at a decent rate and it may take two goals to seal three more points for the peerless Partenopei.
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Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
