Na serious match dey for Napoli and Lazio dis Saturday evening for Serie A. After dem break Napoli victory streak last week, di Scudetto hope don finish for di reigning champions. But di fight for second place still dey hot.
Napoli sit far behind leaders Inter Milan with just six rounds remain. Di Roman rivals, Lazio, suffer another setback for dia last match. After five straight wins, one small slip don end any slim hope of retaining di Serie A title. Napoli fall nine points behind Inter for dis year Scudetto race.
While Inter recover from two goals down to win 4-3 for Como, Antonio Conte side struggle to 1-1 away draw with Parma. After dem fall behind via early error, di Partenopei draw level through talisman Scott McTominay. But dem fail to find winner despite dominating di final half-hour.
Even so, Napoli remain favourites to finish runners-up. Dem don overtake AC Milan by claiming 16 points from possible 18 across last six Serie A matchdays. Dat na more than any other team.
Before returning to Naples dis weekend, di Campanian club no dey beaten for top-flight home fixtures since December 2024. Na dat time Lazio win 1-0 for Stadio Maradona. Conte men don subsequently record 19 wins and seven draws. Dem recently beat di Biancocelesti for Rome: first-half goals from Leonardo Spinazzola and Amir Rrahmani secure victory for Stadio Olimpico.
Though dem lose January reverse fixture, Lazio don actually win all of dia last three away games against Napoli. Dat na as many wins as dem manage throughout previous 20. However, recent form suggest dem go struggle to keep dat streak going. Di capital club dey maroon for mid-table after Monday 1-0 loss to Fiorentina.
Dat tame reverse for Stadio Franchi leave dem occupy ninth place for table. Dem dey 13 points behind city rivals Roma, who hold di final guaranteed ticket to Europe. At di end of troubled campaign, Lazio last hope lie for Coppa Italia. Di second leg of dia semi-final against Atalanta go take place next Wednesday. Di first leg end 2-2.
So, Maurizio Sarri main goal na to lift some silverware before probably depart for summer. Dat go partly cover for some dismal displays for Serie A. Ahead of tough trip to Naples, im team don fail to score for 10 of 16 away games so far. Even Sarri don admit say im dey lose patience with such sub-par attack.
After seven games out of action with hamstring injury, Rrahmani fit be back on bench. But Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo no go return until next week game against Cremonese. Once again, Romelu Lukaku, David Neres and Antonio Vergara dey also ruled out.
Set to join Kevin De Bruyne in support of top scorer Rasmus Hojlund, McTominay don notch three goals for im last five league matches. While Di Lorenzo no yet ready, Lazio welcome dia captain back slightly ahead of schedule on Monday night. Mattia Zaccagni should be involved for Stadio Maradona.
Adam Marusic and Nicolo Rovella still dey out of commission. Number one goalkeeper Ivan Provedel don just join third-choice Alessio Furlanetto for sidelines. Centre-backs Mario Gila and Samuel Gigot don both resume training. But Daniel Maldini remain major doubt. If di latter absent, Boulaye Dia should pip Tijjani Noslin and Petar Ratkov to selection up front.
Napoli possible starting lineup: Milinkovic-Savic; Beukema, Buongiorno, Olivera; Politano, Anguissa, Lobotka, Spinazzola; De Bruyne, McTominay; Hojlund. Lazio possible starting lineup: Motta; Lazzari, Romagnoli, Provstgaard, Tavares; Basic, Cataldi, Taylor; Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni.
After brief blip, Napoli fit immediately return to winning ways by beating meandering Lazio side on home turf. While travel-sick visitors go focus on dia quest to reach cup final, Conte men dey sprint towards finish line for Serie A.
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