Both beaten in their most recent outing, ailing giants Roma and Napoli clash at Stadio Olimpico in Serie A's Saturday night showdown.
Ahead of the latest Derby del Sole, the two southern sides are separated by just two points in the standings - with both trailing behind Italy's top four.
Match preview
© Reuters
Following a run of three wins from four league matches, Roma have now picked up only one point from two subsequent fixtures - a 1-1 draw with Fiorentina and last week's 2-0 defeat to Bologna.
Jose Mourinho met one of his former players in the opposition dugout at Stadio Dall'Ara, and it was Thiago Motta's men that ultimately prevailed, moving three points clear of their visitors in the table.
A fourth away defeat of the season saw the Giallorossi - who were recently drawn against Dutch champions Feyenoord in UEFA competition for a third successive season - slip down to eighth; yet some fine form on home soil has kept them in touch with their fellow Champions League chasers.
Only current leaders Inter Milan have won more Serie A home fixtures than Roma's tally of 13 throughout 2023, while only Atalanta BC have scored more goals on home turf than the capital club.
However, Roma's failings against Calcio's top dogs are yet to be resolved by Mourinho, now in his third - and possibly final - year as Giallorossi boss; his side have not won any of their last 13 league meetings with teams inside the top five, losing nine times.
If they are to end that trend on Saturday, Mourinho's men must also put a stop to their scoreless streak versus Napoli at Stadio Olimpico, as Roma have not scored a single goal in their last three home games against the Partenopei.
© Reuters
In addition to conceding just twice in their last six encounters with this week's hosts, Napoli will arrive in the Eternal City unbeaten in each of their last seven league matches against Roma and targeting another positive result on the road.
Italy's reigning champions boast Serie A's second-best away record, losing only once and conceding a mere six goals to date, so they may fancy their chances of returning to Naples with maximum points on this occasion.
It has been at Stadio Maradona where the Scudetto holders have struggled this season, and on Tuesday night their waning home form reached a new nadir when Frosinone stormed to a 4-0 Coppa Italia win over Walter Mazzarri's side.
Mazzarri - who will become the 10th manager in Serie A history to reach the major milestone of 500 games when he walks out in Rome this weekend - saw his team crumble during the second half, conceding four times in half an hour to suffer the bitter sting of a heavy defeat.
After seeing off Braga to progress in the Champions League, Napoli had battled to a 2-1 victory over Cagliari last week, when star striker Victor Osimhen and wing wizard Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were both on the scoresheet.
That win moved the Partenopei up to fifth in the table - two points above Roma - but such a shocking midweek setback has brought forth more questions about their direction of travel under the recently returned Mazzarri.
Team News
© Reuters
While Bryan Cristante has returned to full training, and Gianluca Mancini could recover from a groin injury to feature in central defence, Roma will still be without both Houssem Aouar (adductor) and Paulo Dybala (thigh) on Saturday evening.
Chris Smalling also remains sidelined, alongside fellow Englishman Tammy Abraham, but Marash Kumbulla - another long-term absentee - could be named on the bench after sitting out several months with an ACL injury.
The hosts will definitely have Romelu Lukaku back in the fold following suspension: they average 1.8 points per game with him on the pitch; without the Belgian striker - who has scored four goals in six Serie A meetings with Napoli - they have averaged just 0.3 points, failing to win even once.
After unsuccessfully rotating his squad on Tuesday, Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri will revert to his strongest available XI this weekend, with captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo and first-choice goalkeeper Alex Meret among those restored to the champions' starting lineup.
Midfield duo Frank Anguissa and Piotr Zielinski should be involved after missing the Coppa Italia loss to Frosinone entirely, but Eljif Elmas and Mathias Olivera remain out of commission.
Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia are set to be joined by Matteo Politano in the visitors' attacking trident. The latter has been directly involved in six Serie A goals against Roma to date; this season, the Italy winger has also found the net four times away from home.
Roma possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Mancini, Llorente, Ndicka; Kristensen, Cristante, Paredes, Bove, Zalewski; Belotti, Lukaku
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Natan, Rrahmani, Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
We say: Roma 1-0 Napoli
Roma can heap more misery on stuttering Napoli by edging a tight contest and leapfrogging their southern rivals in the Serie A standings. Although the Scudetto holders have produced consistent results on the road, their hosts have the knack of grinding out gritty wins at Stadio Olimpico.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
