Napoli host Fiorentina in Serie A on Sunday, with both sides looking to establish some form as we head towards the halfway point in the season.
Napoli currently find themselves sixth in the table on 31 points – nine points behind frontrunners AC Milan.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina are in twelfth place – 13 points shy of Napoli and only six points clear of the relegation zone.
Napoli head into Sunday’s match on the back of a 3-2 victory over Empoli in the Coppa Italia Round of 16.
Goals from Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Hirving Lozano and Andrea Petagna got the job done, meaning Napoli have now won three of their last four games in all competitions.
However, a lack of draws has prevented Napoli from challenging in the Serie A title race so far this season.
Napoli have only drawn of their 16 league matches this term, with their five defeats the highest loss tally in the top nine.
It is worth pointing out that each of Napoli’s last four games have produced over 2.5 goals, with both teams scoring on every occasion.
As for Fiorentina, they were beaten 2-1 by Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday, albeit after extra-time.
Christian Kouame cancelled out Arturo Vidal’s first-half penalty, before Romelu Lukaku netted a 119th-minute winner for Inter.
Still, after recording 16 shots (six on target) last time out, Fiorentina will be confident of causing Napoli some problems this weekend.
Fiorentina have only lost one of their last six Serie A games, with two wins and three draws coming during that period.
But with just 18 goals to their name this term, only the bottom two sides in the division have scored fewer goals than Fiorentina in 2020/21.
Head-to-head: Fiorentina claimed a 2-0 victory when they last faced Napoli back in January 2020, scoring a goal in both halves.
However, Napoli were unbeaten in three meetings with Fiorentina prior two that, picking up two wins and a draw between 2018 and 2019.
Team news: Napoli trio Victor Osimhen, Kevin Malcuit and Kostas Manlos are all currently sidelined through injury.
Fiorentina only have one injury problem at the moment, with veteran winger Franck Ribery currently nursing a knee problem.
With a distinct lack of draws going Napoli’s way this season, we are likely to see a winner on Sunday. With that in mind, the home side are expected to claim all three points.
Forebet predicts that Napoli will net over 2.5 goals on their way to victory against Fiorentina, although both teams are likely to score.