Having headed into the international break with back-to-back losses, Napoli will try to steady the ship on Saturday, when they visit an ailing Hellas Verona side.
Following defeats to Real Madrid and Fiorentina, the Serie A champions resume action at Stadio Bentegodi, where Hellas have won only once in the league this season.
Match preview
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Aiming to bounce back from their Champions League loss to a team led by former Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti, the Scudetto-holders met Fiorentina just before international football intervened.
Viola boss Vincenzo Italiano had been a contender for the Napoli job before current incumbent Rudi Garcia was appointed to succeed Luciano Spalletti in the summer, and his team put on an impressive show at Stadio Maradona, where they ran out 3-1 winners.
Jeered off by a significant section of their fans at the final whistle, the champions had hauled themselves level through Victor Osimhen's penalty in first-half stoppage time, but they could not find another goal and were ultimately punished during the final half-hour.
Napoli have not lost successive Serie A matches since December 2021, so Garcia is now under intense pressure to avoid such a setback this weekend, as they travel north to take on a club with which they share a longstanding enmity.
Despite the geographical distance between them, fans from Naples and Verona are united only in their loathing of one another, so Saturday's hosts would certainly like to prolong the Partenopei's woes on the road.
Under both Spalletti and Garcia, Napoli have won only two of their last seven away fixtures in Serie A; previously they had posted a run of eight straight victories for the loss of just one goal. Having also won a mere two of their last six games versus Verona, a potential banana skin awaits at the Bentegodi.
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Although they have managed to hold Napoli to a draw on several occasions over the past couple of years, Hellas have still come out on top only once in the teams' last 12 league meetings.
The Gialloblu sit close to Serie A's drop zone heading into this week's encounter, and after winning both of their first two matches they have failed to take maximum points from any of the last six, following a 2-1 defeat at Frosinone last time out.
Milan Djuric struck a late consolation for Marco Baroni's men at Stadio Stirpe, where ex-Verona coach Eusebio Di Francesco celebrated victory over his former employer, but that was the only goal they have registered throughout their last five matches.
Between returning to training after the international break and visiting Bologna in the Coppa Italia at the end of this month, Hellas must somehow seek an end to their downturn against two Calcio giants: first Napoli, then Juventus.
That would be a daunting prospect at the best of times, but given such a lack of firepower up front, Baroni and co may be feeling more trepidation than expectation of pulling off an upset.
Team News
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Suffering his latest setback, after a number of issues throughout the earlier part of his Napoli career, reigning Capocannoniere Victor Osimhen has been ruled out for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury sustained on Nigeria duty last week.
As a result, former Verona striker Giovanni Simeone should deputise as the focal point of the visitors' front three on Saturday afternoon. Italy internationals Giacomo Raspadori and Matteo Politano will compete to join Simeone and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia up top.
Elsewhere, Sweden midfielder Jens Cajuste is expected to fill in for Andre-Frank Anguissa, who is unavailable due to a thigh injury; Juan Jesus remains sidelined, but fellow centre-back Amir Rrahmani has returned to training and is set to resume his role in defence.
Meanwhile, Verona are no longer affected by such a long list of absentees, as Pawel Dawidowicz could return to the back three following a layoff and only Isak Hien is ruled out.
After trying various different combinations up front, Marco Baroni may consider bringing in either Federico Bonazzoli or Milan Djuric from the start; only Belgian forward Cyril Ngonge has scored more than once for the Gialloblu in Serie A this season.
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Amione, Dawidowicz, Magnani; Terracciano, Duda, Folorunsho, Lazovic; Saponara, Ngonge; Bonazzoli
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Natan, Rui; Cajuste, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Simeone, Kvaratskhelia
We say: Hellas Verona 1-2 Napoli
The last league draw between Verona and Napoli at the Bentegodi came back in April 1988, when none other than Diego Maradona got his name on the scoresheet.
While Hellas have not conceded too many goals this term, hopes of holding out for a point on Saturday are likely to be futile, as the champions should be fired up and have plenty to prove - while Simeone may enjoy returning to the site of his former successes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Jonathan O'Shea
