Napoli and Lazio dey clash for Serie A showdown

Na serious Serie A match wey go hold for Stadio Maradona dis Saturday evening as Napoli dey host Lazio. Di reigning champions Napoli dey fight to finish second for league table after dem lose hope for title defence. Inter Milan don already run away with di lead, leave Napoli with nine points behind with just six matches remain.

For Napoli side, Antonio Conte dey manage di team. Dem just draw 1-1 with Parma last week after five straight wins. Scott McTominay score di equalizer for dat match but dem no fit find winner. Even with dat small slip, Napoli still get better chance to finish as runner-up pass AC Milan. Dem don collect 16 points from possible 18 for last six matchdays.

Na strong home record Napoli dey carry enter dis match. Dem no lose for top-flight home games since December 2024. Dat last home loss na Lazio win 1-0. Since dat time, Napoli don win 19 matches and draw seven for dia backyard. Dem even beat Lazio for Rome earlier dis season with goals from Leonardo Spinazzola and Amir Rrahmani.

But Lazio get dia own history for Napoli ground. Dem don win all dia last three away matches against Napoli. Dat equal di number of wins wey dem manage for previous 20 visits. Maurizio Sarri dey manage Lazio and dem just lose 1-0 to Fiorentina on Monday. Dat loss leave dem for ninth position for table, 13 points behind city rivals Roma.

Lazio main focus dis season na Coppa Italia. Dem get semi-final second leg against Atalanta coming next Wednesday after first leg end 2-2. Sarri dey look for silverware before probably leaving for summer. But dia attack dey struggle for away games – dem fail to score for 10 of 16 away matches dis season.

For injury news, Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo no go return until next week match against Cremonese. Amir Rrahmani fit return to bench after seven games out with hamstring injury. Romelu Lukaku, David Neres and Antonio Vergara still no fit play. Scott McTominay dey in form with three goals for last five league matches and go join Kevin De Bruyne to support top scorer Rasmus Højlund.

Lazio welcome back dia captain Mattia Zaccagni slightly ahead of schedule. But Adam Marusic and Nicolo Rovella still no fit play. Goalkeeper Ivan Provedel and third-choice Alessio Furlanetto dey on sidelines. Centre-backs Mario Gila and Samuel Gigot don resume training but Daniel Maldini remain major doubt. If Maldini no play, Boulaye Dia go start ahead of Tijjani Noslin and Petar Ratkov.

Napoli possible starting lineup include Vanja Milinkovic-Savic for goal, Sam Beukema, Alessandro Buongiorno and Mathías Olivera for defence. Matteo Politano, Frank Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka and Leonardo Spinazzola for midfield. Kevin De Bruyne and Scott McTominay go support Rasmus Højlund for attack.

Lazio possible starting lineup go feature Christos Mandas for goal, Manuel Lazzari, Alessio Romagnoli, Jacob Rasmussen and Nuno Tavares for defence. Toma Basic, Danilo Cataldi and Kenneth Taylor for midfield. Gustav Isaksen, Boulaye Dia and Mattia Zaccagni for attack.

Di match statistics show say Napoli get better recent form with five wins and one draw for last six Serie A matches. Lazio form show one win, one draw and four losses for same period. For all competitions, Lazio get two wins, two draws and two losses for last six matches.

During di match, several attempts miss target. Tijjani Noslin of Lazio miss left footed shot from difficult angle. Rasmus Højlund of Napoli get shot blocked. Kenneth Taylor of Lazio miss shot from outside box. Mathías Olivera of Napoli shoot high and wide. Sam Beukema of Napoli miss header from centre of box.

Substitutions happen as Eljif Elmas replace Kevin De Bruyne for Napoli and Alisson Santos replace Frank Anguissa. Nuno Tavares of Lazio get shot saved by Vanja Milinkovic-Savic. Manuel Lazzari of Lazio also get shot saved by same goalkeeper. Several fouls occur with Alessandro Buongiorno and Leonardo Spinazzola of Napoli committing fouls against Lazio players.

Corner kicks go to Napoli after Alessio Romagnoli concede and Nuno Tavares concede. Scott McTominay win free kick for Napoli after foul by Toma Basic. Fourth official announce one minute of added time for first half. Di half end with Napoli 0, Lazio 1. Second half begin with same scoreline.