The equation is very straightforward for Sunday evening’s hosts, Napoli, ahead of this upcoming clash against Hellas Verona at their Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, and that is that all three points here would secure the hosts a top four finish and guarantee them Champions League football for next season.
The 4th placed hosts already sit in the top four of Serie A but only a slender point separates Napoli from 5th placed Juventus ahead of this final match day of the season, but having put together a solid eight-match unbeaten run, Lazio will be confident they can get the job done on Sunday.
Six wins out of these last eight games has helped maintain Napoli’s push for Champions League football and the home side will be desperate to achieve this in honour of their former legend, Diego Maradona, who sadly passed away in November.
Napoli have also won eight of their last 10 games on home turf and they also hold an excellent record over Hellas Verona as well, winning each of the last seven meetings on the trot.
The hosts will be without defence trio Koulibaly, Maksimovic and Ghoulam along with midfielder Lobotka.
Hellas Verona sit in the safety of a mid-table 10th place on the Serie A ladder heading into this final match of the season which is perhaps just as well for the visitors as they prepare to face an in-form and highly motivated Napoli outfit this Sunday.
Hellas Verona can be pleased with their Serie A campaign though as the visitors have more or less held their own in the Italian top flight, picking up wins against the teams below them which has helped them steer well clear of the relegation battle below them.
However, Verona may be slightly disappointed in their performances in the second half of this Serie A season as the visitors have managed to record just one win out of their last 12 matches overall which was a 2-0 win away at lowly Cagliari.
Having also managed to collect just two wins out of their last 11 matches on the road, Hellas Verona look to have their work cut out in this final match of the season, especially as they’ve really struggled against Napoli on their travels in previous exchanges.
Napoli therefore look set to record a convincing win here.