When Napoli hosts Empoli at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Tuesday, the only unbeaten team in Serie A will have the chance to extend their domestic winning streak to 10 games.
Napoli’s domestic fortunes have been pretty much perfect lately; they currently have a nine-game winning streak in Serie A. Given their strength at home, where they have outscored their last three opponents by a combined total of 10-3, you have to like their chances of matching their longest winning streak in league play since 2018, and another victory on Tuesday would match that.
They have now won a league game despite giving up the first goal four times this season after coming from behind to defeat Atalanta BC 2-1 on Saturday. They have defeated their previous two opponents in seven of their last eight home victories in all competitions since September.
The Italian top division’s highest goal scorers this season are Luciano Spalletti’s team, who have netted at least four goals seven times across all competitions, 2nd only to Bayern in the top 5 European Leagues. For Napoli so far in 2022β23, 13 players have scored goals, and 10 other players have assisted on at least one of those goals.
Empoli moved up to 14th in the standings at the start of November after recording their first clean sheet since mid-October. They have won two of their last four league games, which is one more victory than they had in this season’s first nine Serie A games.
Only one domestic road victory was achieved by Paolo Zanetti’s team in his first season as manager, but only two away games ended in defeat.
The Florence team has picked up just one point in league games this year after giving up the first goal in four out of their last five. They defeated Napoli in both of their domestic meetings during the previous season, including a 1-0 road victory that was their first against them as guests since 2007-08.
This team had avoided defeat in four of its five Serie A road games prior to their 4-0 loss at Juventus last month. This was their best road performance since 2006β07, when they earned points in six games as the visitors.
Napoli Team News
On Saturday, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen scored his league-leading eighth goal of the Serie A season, and Eljif Elmas scored the game-winning goal, his second of the year.
In his last two games across all competitions, Alex Meret hasn’t given up a goal at home, and Osimhen scored three goals in their last domestic home victory over Sassuolo, a 4-0 victory that included Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s sixth goal of the year.
Four new players who weren’t in the starting 11 when they dropped 2-0 to Liverpool in their final Champions League group match before the knockout stage made their debuts against Atalanta this past weekend.
This past weekend, Leo Ostigard, Tanguy Ndombele, Kvaratskhelia, and Matteo Politano were replaced in the starting lineup by Juan Jesus, Piotr Zielinski, Elmas, and Hirving Lozano.
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Olivera, Kim, Ostigard, Di Lorenzo; Ndombele, Lobotka, Anguissa; Elmas, Victor Osimhen, Politano
Empoli Team News
Tommaso Baldanzi scored the only goal for Empoli against Sassuolo on Saturday, and Guglielmo Vicario made three saves to preserve the shutout.
Baldanzi and Filippo Bandinelli are tied for the team lead in goals so far this season, but the captain of Empoli has gone six games without scoring as a result of the loss of their top two scorers, Szymon Zurkowski and Andrea Pinamonti, in the summer transfer window.
With a sore knee, Lorenzo Tonelli is questionable, Alberto Grassi has rib issues, and Koni De Winter won’t be able to play again until late November due to a hamstring strain. The Italian striker Mattia Destro should be fully recovered from the calf injury that has kept him sidelined for the past few weeks at about the same time.
Empoli possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Ebuehi, Ismajli, Luperto, Parisi; Bajrami, Marin, Bandinelli; Baldanzi; Sam Lammers, Destro
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