Preview: Udinese vs Napoli – prediction, team news, lineups

After being toppled from the top of Serie A, Naples are back in the chasing group before the clash on Saturday Udinese.

Consecutive defeats in the league and cup have put a damper on the Azzurri’s great start to the season, while their hosts have held steady in their place in the campaign Center table.

Game preview

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Defeat to Lazio twice in four days has dented Napoli’s hopes of challenging for two trophies this season as they are now eliminated from the Coppa Italia and no longer top of Italy’s top flight.

Antonio Conte A completely different starting eleven was named for both games, but neither could keep up with their in-form Roman colleagues, who are now just one point behind in the overall standings.

After Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat, Atalanta BC are now at the top of a cross-club title race, and some fans are even questioning Conte’s caution: Not only does his Napoli side have the lowest average possession percentage (50%) in the current top eight , but also have the lowest ball possession rate and the worst goals-per-game rate (1.4).

They have scored a modest 21 league goals so far – the club’s worst tally at this stage of the season since 2009 – and if they fail to score three goals on Saturday it would be their lowest total in 16 games this century.

On the other hand, Napoli have kept five clean sheets in seven away games this season and have only conceded a single goal in their last six away games.

With Conte also unbeaten in 11 Serie A games against Udinese, he will certainly be looking to get back on track this weekend.

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History will not be on Udinese’s side in other respects either, as their last league win against Napoli came in April 2016; Since then, the Bianconeri have suffered no fewer than 13 defeats in 16 consecutive matches.

However, they go into this week’s competition on the back of an increasingly rare win, having lost four of their last five league games before beating Monza 2-1 on Monday.

They are currently recording their second away win in Serie A. Lorenzo Lucca He opened the scoring with his last header as a Slovenian central defender Jaka Bijol He later scored the winning goal in the second half.

Udinese then moved up to ninth place the ranking listWith 20 points from 15 games, the recent decline was stopped.

Now the Friulians are aiming for back-to-back league wins for the first time since September and face two tough tests in the space of a few days: after hosting Napoli, they face Scudetto defending champions Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia.

Udinese Serie A form:

Napoli Serie A Form:

Napoli form (all competitions):

Team news

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After the double setback against Lazio, Napoli’s stardom was dealt another blow Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is ruled out until next year due to a knee injury.

Brazilian winger David Neres could represent, join Matteo Politano And Romelu Lukaku in the final third: The latter has scored five goals in seven Serie A games against Udinese so far.

Pasquale Mazzocchi will also miss out, but Antonio Conte should have the rest of his squad available for the long journey north to Udine.

The hosts also had some injury problems with their starting goalkeeper this week Maduka Okoye He missed Monday’s game in Monza due to a wrist injury that could keep him out of action for up to three months.

Aside from that, Oier Zarraga He is not expected to return until after Christmas due to a thigh problem, so both will have to take part Martin Payero And Noan Davis in the stands.

Since Davis is away, and Alexis Sanchez Lorenzo Lucca, who has just returned from a long break, leads the attack and has scored five league goals this season. Four of them came from headers – the most in Serie A Mateo Retegui.

Udinese possible starting lineup:
Save; Kristensen, Bijol, Giannetti; Ehizibue, Lovric, Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp, ​​Zemura; Thauvin, Lucca

Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka; Politano, McTominay, Neres; Lukaku

We say: Udinese 1-1 Napoli

Napoli could lose more points as a hard-fought and cautious encounter could end entirely.

With neither team in top form, there will be few goals and some of the points are likely to leave Conte and Co. frustrated.

To data analyze the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this game Please click here.

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