On Friday evening, Conte’s side make the trip south to Naples where the league’s top two teams will lock horns in a contest which sees the Bianconeri’s strong away form put to the test at Napoli’s fortress, the Stadio San Paolo.
At home this season, Mazzarri’s side boast a record of nine wins, three draws and just a solitary defeat. Napoli have found the back of the net 30 times in these 14 matches and have achieved 30 out of a possible 39 points.
The Azzurri began the campaign with impeccable form in Naples, registering a five game winning streak with victories over Fiorentina, Parma, Lazio, Udinese and Chievo. While the majority of the club’s home triumphs this season have been decided by one or two goal margins, there have been occasions where Mazzarri’s side have treated their home faithful to particularly dominating displays.
Just five points currently separate Napoli and Lazio in Serie A. But in late September, there was a three goal difference as star forward Cavani netted a hat-trick in a 3-0 home win.
Although December yielded just six points for the Azzurri, the month began in convincing fashion as the hosts ran riot and put five past Pescara. Hamsik chipped in with a goal to add to doubles from both Inler and Cavani.
Napoli began the new year in prolific goalscoring form, netting seven times in their first two league fixtures. On matchday 19 of the season, another hat-trick from their leading scorer Cavani guided the hosts to a 4-1 victory over Roma. One week later, Maggio, Inler and Insigne all put their names on the scoresheet to see off the challenge of Palermo 3-0.
Many of Napoli’s dropped points at home have come via the conceding of late goals. The trend began against Torino when Sansone was gifted a goal in injury time to negate Cavani’s early strike and grab a point for the visitors.
Later in the month, Milan came from 2-0 down to secure a share of the spoils in the 82nd minute when El Shaarawy found his second of the night.
Mazzarri’s side have only tasted defeat at home once this season, against Bologna in mid-December. After conceding early, Napoli overturned the deficit with goals from Gamberini and Cavani. Then, with the game seeming safe, the Stadio San Paolo crowd was stunned when the visitors netted twice in the last five minutes. First Kone connected with a stunning acrobatic volley to restore parity and then a Portanova header handed the visitors three unexpected points.
Source: Juventus.com
Buy on AliExpress.com