Having picked up just the one win out of their last four matches in Serie A, Sunday evening’s hosts, Lazio, have dropped down the Italian top flight pecking order to 9th place and three points adrift of the top six pack and 6th placed Roma prior to this upcoming clash against Napoli.
Lazio’s one success in recent matches was a 2-1 win away from home at lowly Spezia, but defeats at home to Udinese 3-1 and Hellas Verona 2-1 have shown that Lazio have been vulnerable on home turf at their Stadio Olimpico.
This upcoming visit from 4th placed Napoli could be another tough assignment for the hosts.
In addition, Lazio haven’t exactly been firing on all cylinders in their own backyard as the hosts have managed to collect just one win on home soil so far this season which came in the shape of a 2-1 victory over Bologna while also losing three of their six home matches to date.
Losses to Atalanta 4-1, Udinese 3-1 and Hellas Verona 2-1 means Lazio are far from a guaranteed win here but goals look likely as four of their six home matches have resulted in over 2.5 goals.
4th placed Napoli’s three-match winning streak was brought to an end last night when they suffered a 1-0 loss away from home against 2nd placed Inter Milan but Napoli may well sense that their upcoming hosts on Sunday evening, Lazio, could be here for the taking and a bounce-back win for the visitors.
Recent victories against Roma 4-0, Crotone 4-0 and a 2-1 win against Sampdoria have helped maintain Napoli’s push for a possible top four finish at the end of this campaign and prior to the loss in Milan to Inter, Napoli had also won their previous three away matches on the trot too.
Victories at Benevento 2-1, Bologna 1-0 and the aforementioned 4-0 romp at Crotone show that Napoli are capable of recording wins as well as scoring goals on the road, while six of the previous eight meetings between Lazio and Napoli have also produced over 2.5 goals.
Both Lazio and Napoli come into this clash on the back of defeats and both will be keen to set the record straight here as goals look a likely outcome here.