AS Roma’s impressive run of results came to an abrupt end as they were beaten by arch rivals Lazio in Coppa Italia semi-final first leg, and the Gallorossi will be looking to hit back when they host Napoli. Napoli FC will also have a point to prove after a 2-0 loss to rivals Atalanta. This is expected to be a tough and entertaining fixture between the two sides.
AS Roma
AS Roma to this point are having a very successful season, and indeed they are playing at their best in years. AS Roma have held onto second place in the Serie A standings tightly. This is attributed to the fact that they have been on the the run of four straight victories and they are now seven points behind leaders Juventus. Even though Roma are in a good position to secure Champions League qualification, they’ve got Napoli, Atalanta and Lazio to face and these are clearly tough teams. They cannot afford to relax just yet. This is a big opportunity for AS Roma to show their character as they meet with Napoli just three days after a 2-0 defeat on the road to local rivals Lazio in the Coppa Italia. where AS Roma dominated the encounter, but their opponents were ruthless on the break and eventually secured a very good result ahead of the return leg. AS Roma are highly unlikely to change their attacking mindset which helped them win 15 straight Serie A matches at home.Team News
Wojciech Szczesny and Daniele De Rossi will be recalled after they were rested in midweek, but Alessandro Florenzi continues to miss out.Napoli
Napoli have performed rather brilliantly this seaseon and their recent form is threatening to ruin their season. Napoli have now lost three of their last four fixtures in all fronts, suffering 3-1 defeats in the first leg of Champions League Last 16 stage and Coppa Italia semi-final, while also putting their top 3 finish in danger with the home loss to Atalanta. FC Napoli probably did not deserve the defeat to Juventus and they were furious at the match officials for awarding Juventus two penalties. They have no choice but to beat AS Roma. Head coach Maurizio Sarri will have many important players back t after they were rested in the midweek, he will be hoping they produce the spark needed to turn things around. Napoli seem not to be scoring goals recently and this is a worrying trend. They only have scored once in past two games, but attack-minded AS Roma are expected to leave a lot of space behind and that is something Mertens, Callejon, Hamsik and Insigne should be looking to exploit fully.Team News
Dries Mertens, Elseid Hysaj, Faouzi Ghoulam and Piotr Zielinski will return to the side, but Lorenzo Tonelli and Allan remain sidelined.Key Factors
- AS Roma have won three of their last four matches against Napoli
- Roma and Napoli have each scored in just one of their last seven meetings
- AS Roma has won each of their last five home matches against Napoli
- FC Napoli has lost three of their last four fixtures
- AS Roma has won 15consecutive home games in Serie A
PREDICTION
OVER 2.5 @ 1.80
THE TIP WON
FINAL RESULT 1-2
