Napoli vs Lazio Match Analysis and Prediction

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Serie A leaders Napoli return to action with their visit of southern rivals Lazio on Sunday at Stadio Maradona, following back-to-back defeats during the past week.

A first loss in the league to Inter was succeeded by a surprising Europa League reverse for Luciano Spalletti’s side, while Lazio fared on well by beating Lokomotiv Moscow after they were defeated by Juventus.

Napoli’s defeat to Spartak Moscow in the Europa League on Wednesday was their second in a span of three days, an omen that reflects their first significant bump on the road since the begining of the season.

Still on top of the league on a goal difference from Milan, Gli Azzurri had previously come away without a point from an encounter with last season’s champions on Saturday evening.

While their present participation in Europe may be in jeopardy, Napoli remain unbeaten at home in Serie A since January.

After losing to Spezia at the start of the year, they have had 13 wins and four draws in their subsequent league fixtures at the Maradona, including five victories where they conceded just two goals.

Despite Inter’s three goals last Sunday, Napoli have still conceded the fewest times in the division this term.

Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio side have managed to keep only two clean sheets, which indicates their difficulties in transitioning from Simone Inzaghi’s methods.

Having lost their long unbeaten record at the Olimpico, Lazio hit the road once more, but they have taken just five points from a possible 18 away, and have also won just once in their last ten on the road in the league. Conceding goals in each makes it their worst such run for more than five years.

They will be up against the same this weekend, Lazio have lost 12 of their last 16 games against Napoli in Serie A, and a consecutive four-game loss in which they have conceded at least twice on each occasion, does not go well for Sarri’s return to Stadio Maradona.

Napoli vs Lazio head to head

Out of their 46 previous encounters, Napoli takes the lead with 21 victories against Lazio’s 16. They have drawn 9 times, with Napoli scoring 74 goals and conceding 63. In their last five encounters, Napoli have won three and Lazio two, with every winner being on the home turf .

Lazio 1-0 Napoli 11/01/20

Napoli 1-0 Lazio 21/01/20

Napoli 3-1 Lazio 01/08/20

Lazio 2-0 Napoli 20/12/20

Napoli 5-2 Lazio 22/04/21

Napoli latest home form

Gli Azzurri are currently in good form at home as reflected in their performance. They have lost just two matches in their last ten at home across all competition. In their last five, they have won three, drawn one and lost one, scoring 10 goals and conceding 4.

Napoli 2-3 Spartak Moscow 30/09/21

Napoli 1-0 Torino 17/10/21

Napoli 3-0 Legia Warsaw 21/10/21

Napoli 3-0 Bologna 28/10/21

Napoli 1-1 Verona 07/11/21

Napoli latest away form

Napoli have had more than ten game unbeaten run which came to sudden end in the hands of Inter, losing 3-2, before which they were defeated in the Europa League by Spartak Moscow. In their last five away, they have won two, drawn one and lost two.

Roma 0-0 Napoli 24/10/21

Salernitana 0-1 Napoli 31/10/21

Legia Warsaw 1-4 Napoli 04/11/21

Inter Milan 3-2 Napoli 21/11/21

Spartak Moscow 2-1 Napoli 24/11/21

Lazio latest home form

Despite losing their last match at home to Juventus, Lazio have a relatively good form at home, having gone unbeaten in more than ten games before in all competitions. In their last five at home, they have won three, drawn one and lost one in the process.

Lazio 3-1 Inter Milan 16/10/21

Lazio 0-0 Marseille 21/10/21

Lazio 1-0 Fiorentina 27/10/21

Lazio 3-0 Salernitana 07/11/21

Lazio 0-2 Juventus 20/11/21

Lazio latest away form

The Eagles are currently on an upturn of form as they have come from two loses to two draws before finishing with a victory in their last game.They lost twice and drew once in the Seria A, then drew to Marseille and won over Lokomotiv Moscow in the Europa League.

Bologna 3-0 Lazio 03/10/21

Verona 4-1 Lazio 24/10/21

Atalanta 2-2 Lazio 30/10/21

Marseille 2-2 Lazio 04/11/21

Lokomotiv Moscow 0-3 Lazio 25/11/21

Napoli news

Captain Lorenzo Insigne and midfielder Fabian Ruiz are back in training and could start here. However, Andre-Frank Anguissa(mascular), Adam Ounas(thigh) and Matteo Politano(Covid-19) remain out for Napoli, joining centre-forward Victor Osimhen on the sideline.

Lazio news

As for Lazio, only Adam Marusic will be absent. Goalkeeper Pepe Reina and first-teamers Manuel Lazzari, Sergel Milinkovic-Savic and Pedro should return after being rested on Thursday. That means Patric, Mattia Zaccagni, Thomas Strakosha and Toma Basic would be out of the first XI.

Prediction and Odds

Napoli’s supremacy in this fixture and on the home turf accompanied with Lazio’s porous defence, could mean that they can come out to overpower their Serie A’s southern opponents, paying tribute to the club icon Diego Maradona, their eternal number 10.

Odds: 1 1.80 X 3.45 2 4.10