Another week of the Serie A has kicked underway with three matches featuring on Saturday throughout the day, but the league’s first place team in Napoli will face Empoli on Sunday afternoon. The Partenopei are looking to defend their first place position for a third consecutive week.
Empoli has been a nightmare for Napoli in the most recent match-ups between the two clubs. Already earlier this season, Empoli was able to hold Napoli to a 2-2 draw at home and almost came away with the victory. Last year Napoli was only able to salvage a point against Empoli with two terrible performances.
With the way things stand, Empoli is currently in 8th place in the Serie A. The squad has some bright young players including Riccardo Saponara who is an offensive star and Lorenzo Tonelli who is having an impressive season defensively. The club even has veteran leadership at the front of the attack in Massimo Maccarone who is having a great season with 9 goals thus far. Empoli has drawn their last two matches, but have only lost once total in their past 5 Serie A matches. This team has shown that it has enough in the tank to compete with the Partenopei.
Although Napoli and Empoli tied 2-2 earlier in the season, it is a different Napoli that has been playing of late. The 2-2 draw was only the third game of the season for a new Azzurri side under the watch of first year coach, Maurizio Sarri. With the chemistry seemingly increasing between the Napoli teammates week in and week out, one can expect a different Napoli side this time around. The Partenopei have won 5 consecutive Serie A matches thanks to all phases of the team clicking, but the brilliance of Gonzalo Higuain has truly helped the team shine. Higuain leads all scorers in the Serie A with 21 goals. Napoli sits at the top of table with 47 points, but Juventus is right behind them at 45. They must work hard against Empoli and battle for a victory to ensure that they remain in first place. The fans at the Stadio San Paolo will be ready to cheer on their beloved club.
Napoli’s Recent Form in Serie A: WWWWW
Empoli’s Recent Form in Serie A: DDWLW
Head to Head: As mentioned previously, Empoli has gotten the better of Napoli recently. Empoli defeated the Azzurri 4-2 at home last season and then drew 2-2 against Napoli at the San Paolo. Earlier this season away at Empoli, Napoli was able to come back for a 2-2 draw.
Napoli: Formation – 4-3-3
Suspended: None
Injured: Alberto Grassi
Callups: Reina, Gabriel, Rafael, Maggio, Hysaj, Strinic, Ghoulam, Albiol, Koulibaly, Chiriches, Luperto, Valdifiori, Allan, David Lopez, Hamsik, Chalobah, El Kaddouri, Callejon, Insigne, Mertens, Gabbiadini, Higuain
NAPOLI’S Probable Starting XI: (4-3-3) Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Allan, Valdifiori, Hamsik; Callejon, Higuain, Insigne
Empoli Suspended: None
Injured: Costa
Callups: Skorupski, Pugliesi, Pelagotti; Zambelli, Laurini, Tonelli, Camporese, Mario Rui, Diousse; Bittante, Maiello, Zielinski, Paredes, Buchel, Saponara, Croce, Piu, Krunic; Pucciarelli, Maccarone, Livaja, Mchedlidze.
EMPOLI’S Probable Starting XI: (4-3-1-2) Skorupski; Laurini, Tonelli, Camporese, Mario Rui; Zielinksi, Paredes, Buchel; Saponara; Pucciarelli, Maccarone
The post Napoli vs. Empoli Preview; Callups and Probable Lineups appeared first on IFD.
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