Serie A Week 22 – 29 Jan 2017 (19.45 UK)
Napoli – Palermo
Stadio San Paolo
Palermo debut under their fourth Coach of the season and it’s a baptism of fire against seemingly unstoppable Napoli.
These have not been fun times being a Palermo fan. The club has looked disoriented for some time now, with results on the pitch showcasing their structural issues off it. With only two wins in 21 matches, the Rosanero are sitting just one point above last-place Pescara in the Serie A standings and 11 points behind Empoli’s safe 17th position.
On top of it all Eugenio Corini, the club’s third Coach of the season, resigned earlier this week. “It seemed the fairest and most logical option right now.”
There aren’t many worse trips to make for Palermo than to play at Napoli’s San Paolo. A team without any guidance is possibly lost against Maurizio Sarri’s offensive juggernaut before the whistle has even been blown, even with the fine spirit the Rosanero showed the last couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, Napoli are in great form. They haven’t lost a game since October 29 (at Juventus) and have won six of their last seven, including every competitive match in 2017. Despite losing striker Arkadiusz Milik, the Partenopei’s offence hasn’t missed a beat thanks to ‘false nine’ Dries Mertens and his fast-paced combinations with Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon.
Napoli have scored 24 goals in their last seven league games and are up against a team that has already conceded 41 this season. New Coach Diego Lopez would be crazy to use a three-man defence, the most often used so far. Frankly, the Rosanero’s only hope is an off-day by Sarri’s men in combination with a spirited effort by themselves.
Maybe the Sicilians can crowd the midfield, blocking passes to Napoli’s feared offensive trio. Maybe Palermo are able to block Marek Hamsik’s killer forward runs. Maybe there’s a way for the visitors to stop Insigne and Callejon from connecting with Mertens. Maybe, just maybe there’s hope for Palermo. But any realistic football mind will tell you that Napoli are in for a fun game, while the Rosanero can only pray for the best.
Keep an eye on: Ilija Nestorovski (Palermo) –Palermo have just one chance of gaining more than zero points in this game – scoring a surprise goal. Napoli are going to hit the net at some point, but if Nestorovski can somehow find a way to score his eighth goal of the campaign, Palermo might have a small chance of not losing this one.
Form Guide: Napoli (W W W D W) Palermo (L L L D W)
Last season: Napoli 2-0 Palermo
Stat fact: Palermo have the worst goal difference in Serie A with -24. The Rosanero have been able to keep just one clean sheet all season.
Napoli (probable): Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Tonelli, Strinic; Zielinski, Jorginho, Hamsik; Callejon, Mertens, Insigne
Palermo (probable): Posavec; Cionek, Gonzalez, Goldaniga; Rispoli, Henrique, Jajalo, Chochev, Pezzella; Quaison; Nestorovski
Top tip: Over 2.5 goals.