Napoli look to close the gap with leaders Inter Milan as they will take on Spezia in the midweek Serie A fixture.
Venue: Diego Armando Maradona Stadium
Key statistics – Napoli vs Spezia
- Napoli and Spezia have met only twice in Serie A until now, with both games coming in the 2020/21 season.
- Napoli are winless in their last eight league games played on Wednesday (D4 L4)
- The Partenopei have suffered back to back home defeats in Serie A this season.
- The home side are second in Scudetto rankings with 39 points, while Spezia are 17th with 13 points.
Head to Head
Napoli have been the better side in their last five meetings, claiming 4 wins as opposed to Spezia’s one.
Latest performances in all competitions
Napoli: D L W L W
Spezia: L D L L D
Napoli
Napoli lost their grip at the top of the table after going winless for four consecutive games. ( L3 D1).
However, they are back on track after edging out AC Milan 1-0 at the weekend, with Macedonian midfielder Elif Elmas scoring the decisive goal.
Elmas has made good use of his opportunities after scoring 3 goals in the last three games. He is expected to play a key role once again in the absence of big stars like Lorenzo Insigne, Victor Osimhen and Fabian Ruiz.
Luciano Spalletti’s side will be eying another three points against the less-competent Spezia side on Wednesday, as it could help them close the gap with leaders Inter Milan. They can’t afford a draw or defeat as AC Milan are just behind them, sharing the same points (39).
Possible Napoli line-up
David Ospina; Kevin Malcuit, Amir Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Giovanni Di Lorenzo; Andre-Frank Anguissa, Diego Demme; Matteo Politano, Piotr Zielinski, Hirving Lozano; Dries Mertens
Injured: Fabian Ruiz, Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne, Victor Osimhen, Mario Rui
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Spezia
Spezia managed to escape the relegation last season but they have been quite underwhelming this season.
They are currently flirting with relegation and have recorded the second most defeats (11) in the Italian top-flight this season.
The visitors are coming on the back of a 1-1 draw against Empoli but they await a gargantuan task against Napoli on Wednesday.
Possible Spezia line-up
Ivan Provedel; Kelvin Amian, Martin Erlic, Dimitris Nikolaou; Viktor Kovalenko, Simone Bastoni, Giulio Maggiore, Emmanuel Gyasi, Arkadiusz Reca; Rey Manaj, Janis Antiste
Injured: Jacopo Sala, Leo Sena, Eddie Salcedo
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Napoli 2 – 0 Spezia
