It is a battle of Serie A’s unbeaten teams on Monday night as Udinese host Napoli in Serie A play. Udinese go into the game in fifth place in the Serie A standings with seven points from nine.
The Zebrette are looking up at Napoli in the Serie A standings as the Partenopei are one of the league’s three teams with a 100% record. Napoli have looked brilliant this season and are coming off of a 2-1 win over Juventus on matchday 3.
Napoli are coming off of a 2-2 draw in the Europa League on Thursday night against Leicester City. Luciano Spalletti’s team were down 2-0 at one point only to make a late come back to claim a draw.
The Partenopei are unbeaten in 11 straight games against Udinese in all competitions. Ten of those 11 matches ended in wins for Napoli. Spalletti’s team are in great form against Udinese, but this is one of the Zebrette’s best starts to a Serie A season in some time.
Udinese coach Luca Gotti has just one name on the team’s injury list. Destiny Udogie is a doubt due to a muscle issue. Udinese have outscored opponents 6-2 this season and have won their last two matches to nil.
Those wins came againts Venezia and Spezia in back-to-back weekends. It wasn’t the most difficult opposition Udinese could have played.
Napoli have also outscored opponents 6-2 this season. Two of their three games ended with both teams scoring goals.
Their last two games in Serie A and their Europa League match on Thursday night against Leicester saw over 2.5 goals scored.
Spalletti may need to rotate the team following the Europa League game in England. The positive note for Spalletti is that the team doesn’t play until Monday night.
Goalkeeper Alex Meret is a doubt due to a back injury. If Meret cannot goal, David Ospina will get the start. Midfielders Stanislav Lobotka and Diego Demme are also doubts to play.
The last three matches between these teams ended with over 2.5 goals scored. Five straight games between Udinese and Napoli ended with both teams finding the back of the net. Both trends should occur once more when the teams meet on Monday in Udine.
Despite Udinese’s good start to the campaign, Napoli should claim max points for the 10th time in 11 meetings in all competitions. Napoli are looking good under Spalletti and should keep pace as one of the top three teams in the Serie A standings.