Still in contention to claim a European place for next season, Napoli host lowly Frosinone in Serie A's Sunday lunchtime kickoff.
While the Partenopei need points to stay on the tails of Italy's top six, their visitors are stuck inside the drop zone and have yet to win an away match since achieving promotion.
Match preview
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Aiming to finish strongly in Serie A after making a tame defence of the Scudetto, Napoli visited mid-table Monza last week, when they trailed by a goal at half time but then rattled in three themselves shortly after the interval, ultimately running out 4-2 winners.
Matteo Politano scored a contender for goal of the season and Victor Osimhen found the net with a gravity-defying header, as Francesco Calzona's side secured their grip on seventh spot in the standings and also closed the gap to sixth-placed Atalanta BC.
Nonetheless, Napoli have still kept just six clean sheets; only once before have they recorded fewer at this stage of a top-flight campaign, and three different managers have tried and failed to keep the back door shut.
Their most recent home fixture was last month's 3-0 loss to Atalanta, and as a result of such defensive deficiencies, the Campanian club have won only six of 15 league games at Stadio Maradona so far.
With the tag of champions hanging heavily, the Partenopei have struggled to perform in Naples, but they cannot afford another slip-up this weekend - having exited both the Coppa Italia and Champions League, their sole focus is on finishing as high as possible in Serie A.
Having won all of their five top-flight games against Frosinone to date, including a 3-1 success at Stadio Stirpe in August, only another win will appease the Napoli faithful.
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Indeed, Frosinone have never before scored an away goal against Napoli in Serie A, losing both previous encounters by the same 4-0 scoreline.
After a bright start to life back in the big time, following promotion as second-tier champions last term, the Canarini will arrive at Stadio Maradona on this occasion with their top-flight status hanging by a thread.
In their last 18 league matches, Eusebio Di Francesco's side have won only once and lost 12 times; only Bundesliga strugglers Darmstadt have won fewer throughout Europe's top five leagues during that spell - only Serie B-bound Salernitana have lost more.
Having picked up a paltry four points away from home, Frosinone fans may not expect much from Sunday's visit to the home of Italy's reigning champions, but their team did manage to shut out high-flying Bologna last week.
Despite keeping a rare clean sheet in that 0-0 draw, the Canarini have still shipped more Serie A goals than anyone else in 2024 and their winless streak now stands at 10, leaving them 18th in the table and one point adrift of safety.
Team News
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After his stunning goal in Monza, Matteo Politano should return to the right side of Napoli's attacking trident on Sunday - joining Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen - as Cyril Ngonge must make way due to suspension.
Mathias Olivera has sustained a thigh injury, so Mario Rui is set to start at left-back, while Juan Jesus has been ruled out and will be replaced by Leo Ostigard.
The hosts' top scorer with 12 league goals, Osimhen bagged a brace in this season's reverse fixture, which took place on the opening day - Politano was also on target at Stadio Stirpe.
Meanwhile, Matias Soule has proved Frosinone's most prolific player in a breakthrough campaign, scoring 10 times so far; however, he has not found the net in his last eight games. On Sunday, the Juventus loanee should support Napoli-owned Walid Cheddira up front.
Incidentally, both Soule (191) and Kvaratskhelia (162) are inside the top 10 for most dribbles attempted across Europe's top five leagues this season.
Though Francesco Gelli, Abdou Harroui and Pol Lirola have all rejoined full training and should be available to Eusebio Di Francesco, defensive duo Anthony Oyono (ankle) and Ilario Monterisi (muscular) are both ruled out by injury.
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Ostigard, Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
Frosinone possible starting lineup:
Turati; Lirola, Romagnoli, Okoli; Zortea, Mazzitelli, Barrenechea, Valeri; Brescianini, Soule; Cheddira
We say: Napoli 3-1 Frosinone
Though Napoli remain inconsistent, Francesco Calzona has got them closer to their Scudetto-winning style than either of his two predecessors this season; as Frosinone routinely fail to deliver when on the road, all three points should be theirs for the taking.
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