English
Español
Français
Português
Deutsch
Italiano
NederlandAfter a spectacular success in midweek, fifth-placed Napoli take on relegation-battlers Torino on Monday, determined to last the pace in the race for Champions League qualification.
Gennaro Gattuso's side have now won seven from 10 since their European elimination in February, while Il Toro have turned a corner in their fight to avoid the drop - picking up 11 points from the last possible 18.
Match preview
© Reuters
A remarkable 5-2 destruction of their closest rivals in the Serie A standings, Lazio, on Thursday continued Napoli's recent run of fine form and left them just three points adrift of second-placed Milan ahead of the weekend's action.
Captain Lorenzo Insigne once more shone for the Partenopei, bagging a brace to move on to 17 goals (plus five assists) in a stellar personal campaign. Assuming he features as planned on Monday evening, the in-form Italy international will make his 300th league appearance for his hometown club and has arguably never played better than of late.
Gennaro Gattuso, whose future at the club is yet to be determined, was also delighted to see fellow forwards Victor Osimhen and Dries Mertens - now on nine goals and eight assists, having equalled the club's Serie A scoring record - make the scoresheet against their capital counterparts.
Not only did the trio prolong Napoli's record of scoring at least once in each game since the start of the calendar year, but also helped see off the challenge of one of their main contenders for a top-six place.
After also earning a point against league leaders Inter last weekend, the Neapolitans are now set to face a theoretically less challenging run-in than many of their rivals - with five of their remaining opponents currently sitting in the bottom half.
The first fixture of that concluding six-match spell comes against a club they have remained unbeaten against since March 2015. Since then, Napoli have won seven times and drawn four versus Torino - a run during which the inspirational Insigne has been directly involved in 11 goals against them.
© Reuters
Having put together a four-match unbeaten streak in Serie A, a much-improved Torino outfit moved clear of the relegation zone in midweek, but are still precariously placed with seven games to go.
Though they still have a game in hand on their nearest rivals, Davide Nicola's team are still to face Milan and Lazio, following a particularly testing encounter on Monday.
Last time out, the Granata were held 1-1 by Bologna, as they added another point towards their aim of staying afloat in the top flight - a task made significantly more attainable after their unexpected upset of Roma just days before.
Star striker Andrea Belotti - the subject of much transfer speculation ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window - has had a relatively dry spell of late, but the recent final-third form of winter signings Antonio Sanabria and Rolando Mandragora has certainly compensated.
Both men were brought into the side by boyhood Toro fan Nicola, under whom Turin's second side have picked up an average of 1.4 points per game since his mid-season arrival - double their rate in a disastrous first part of the campaign.
This week, the former Udinese coach would most likely accept a repeat of Torino's goalless draw in Naples the last time these clubs met, as he seeks to succeed in keeping his dream job long term.
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- D
- W
Article continues after the advert
Team News
© Reuters
Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina remains out of action with a thigh strain, with the 32-year-old stopper unavailable until the end of the month, so Alex Meret once more deputises as the visitors' last line of defence.
Ahead of him, Amir Rrahmani and Nikola Maksimovic will go head-to-head to replace Kostas Manolas in defence, as the Greek centre-back must serve a suspension on Monday. Midfield regular Diego Demme returns from his one-match ban, though, and should replace Tiemoue Bakayoko in the engine room.
In search of one more goal to become the club's outright Serie A top scorer, Dries Mertens will hope to get the nod over Victor Osimhen for a start in the centre of the Azzurri's three-man attack.
Torino, meanwhile, have their first-choice goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu back from a spell in self-isolation due to COVID-19, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic therefore returning to the sidelines.
Though the rest of the lineup is set to stay unchanged, as Davide Nicola has established an effective XI of late, in-form 'Tonny' Sanabria may expect to come back in for Simone Zaza up front.
Torino possible starting lineup:
Sirigu; Izzo, Nkoulou, Bremer; Singo, Rincon, Mandragora, Verdi, Ansaldi; Sanabria, Belotti
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Koulibaly, Rui; Demme, Ruiz; Lozano, Zielinski, Insigne; Mertens
We say: Torino 1-2 Napoli
Gennaro Gattuso's visitors have goal threats all across the final third, so can put an end to Torino's terrific burst of form by exploiting the home side's defensive deficiencies.
Even though they have tightened up significantly at the back, the Granata can be vulnerable to the kind of guile provided by penalty-box masters Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens.
