Third-placed Napoli will host Empoli in the weekend Serie A fixture.
Venue: Diego Armando Maradona Stadium
Key statistics
- Napoli have won six of their eight home games against Empoli in Serie A.
- Napoli lost their last competitive Serie A meeting against Empoli in 2019.
- The Partenopei haven’t managed a single victory in their last five Serie A meetings played in December ( D2 L3).
- The Partenopei are third in the Serie A table with 36 points whilst Empoli are 11th with 23 points.
- Napoli skipper Lorenzo Insigne has collected 5 assists this season – the highest in Serie A.
Head to Head records
Napoli and Empoli share the same number of victories (5) in their last 14 competitive meetings.
Latest performances in all competitions
Napoli: L W D L W
Empoli: D L W D W
Napoli
Napoli embarked on an unprecedented unbeaten run in Serie A before being hit by a series of setbacks in recent weeks.
The Partenopei have managed only victory in their last four games and also lost their long-held dominance at the top of the table.
However, they secured a morale-boosting win against Leicester City in the Europa League days ago, which also ensured their qualification to the knockouts. Macedonian star Elif Elmas scored a stunning brace.
Luciano Spalletti’s men would look to return to winning ways, as they will face 11th-placed Empoli on Sunday. With both Milan clubs at the top of the table, Napoli need a win to keep the title race tight.
Napoli have been hit with injuries as key players like Lorenzo Insigne, Fabian Ruiz and Kalidou Koulibaly will miss Sunday’s action.
Possible Napoli line-up
David Ospina; Juan Jesus, Amir Rrahmani, Giovanni Di Lorenzo; Kelvin Malcuit, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski, Mario Rui; Hirving Lozano, Eljif Elmas, Dries Mertens
Injured: Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne, Fabian Ruiz, Stainslav Lobotka, Alessandro Zaniolo
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Empoli
Empoli have been impressive in recent weeks, as they are unbeaten in their last three games in Serie A (2W 1D).
The newly-promoted side are coming on the back of an emphatic 3-1 win over Udinese, with Andrea Pinamonti finding the nets once again.
The on-loan Inter Milan striker has moved his tally to six goals and he looks poised for a productive season.
Empoli would be keen on moving to the top half of the table but they face a tough challenge against Napoli on Sunday.
Possible Empoli line-up
Guglielmo Vicario; Fabiano Parisi, Sebastiano Luperto, Lorenzo Tonelli, Petar Stojanovic; Liam Henderson, Samuele Ricci, Nicolas Haas, Nedim Bajrami; Federico Di Francesco, Andrea Pinamonti
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Napoli 2 – 0 Empoli
