In a match packed with top-four implications, Roma host Napoli on Saturday evening at the Stadio Olimpico.
Coming off their defeat against Bologna last weekend, the Giallorossi face a must-win situation when they welcome the Partenopei to the Italian capital. Meanwhile, Walter Mazzarri’s side will hope to bounce back from their horrific midweek display against Frosinone in the Coppa Italia where they lost 4-0 to Eusebio Di Francesco’s men.
Kick-off is scheduled for 20.45 CET at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Roma
Jose Mourinho’s men continue their December gauntlet on Saturday in a month where they’ve already faced Sassuolo, Fiorentina, and Bologna. With a record of 1W, 1D, and 1L since the start of the month, Roma find themselves in a must-win situation against Napoli. A loss would put their Champions League place hopes at risk before they face another tough test next weekend—this time against Juventus.
Luckily, Romelu Lukaku will be back in action after he served his one-match suspension last week during the defeat against Bologna. However, they’ll still be without Paulo Dybala, who continues to recover from a muscle strain.
Meanwhile, Mourinho faces a selection conundrum in midfield. Captain Lorenzo Pellegrini is at risk of losing his starting place thanks to a disappointing campaign—Edoardo Bove tipped to replace him. Rasmus Kristensen and Nicola Zalewski are expected to start on the flanks with Andrea Belotti partnering Lukaku in attack.
Roma will also look to break their nightmarish recent record against Napoli—whom they haven’t defeated since 2019. Since that time, the Partenopei have 5 victories and 2 draws against the capital club.
Napoli
The visitors will be itching to rebound from their midweek elimination in the Coppa Italia against Frosinone.
Manager Walter Mazzarri will make his 500th appearance in Serie (his 150th with Napoli) on Saturday—becoming only the tenth coach in the history of the Italian top division to reach this milestone.
He’ll be forced to deal with notable absences including midfield duo Elif Elmas and Frank Anguissa. Thankfully for him, Victor Osimhen avoided any serious injury after he was forced off early last weekend in their victory over Cagliari.
They’ll look to extend their streak of strong performances against Roma. In fact, no team has performed better defensively against the Giallorossi than Napoli over the past three seasons in Serie A. During this time, the Partenopei have conceded only 2 goals in 6 games against the capital club.
Predicted Lineups
ROMA (3-5-2): Rui Patricio; Mancini, Llorente, Ndicka; Kristensen, Cristante, Paredes, Bove, Zalewski; Lukaku, Belotti
Unavailable: Tammy Abraham, Marash Kumbulla, Chris Smalling, Paulo Dybala
NAPOLI (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
Unavailable: Eljif Elmas, Mathias Oliveira
