Fresh from qualifying for the Europa League knockout phase, Napoli will be looking to build further momentum when they host Empoli in Serie A on Sunday.
Luciano Spalletti’s side sit third in the Serie A table – one point shy of second-place Inter and two points behind first-place Milan.
On the flip side, Empoli find themselves eleventh – 13 points behind Napoli and four points outside the European places.
Napoli claimed a 3-2 victory over English side Leicester City on Thursday, booking their place the knockouts in the process.
A goal from Adam Ounas, along with an Elif Elmas brace, ensured that Napoli finished second in Group C – level with first-place Spartak Moscow on ten points.
However, things have taken a turn for the worse in Serie A recently. Having won ten of their opening 11 games, they have only managed to win one of their previous five.
Napoli lost 3-2 to Inter last month before losing to Atalanta by the same scoreline last weekend. They will be eager to get back on track when Empoli come to town.
Following promotion from Serie B last season, it’s fair to say that Empoli have made a solid start to life back in the top flight.
They have recorded seven wins, two draws and seven losses from their 16 Serie A games this term – scoring 26 goals while conceding 29.
It is worth pointing out that Empoli have lost just one of their previous six encounters in Italy’s top division.
However, they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 11 Serie A matches, while both teams have scored in each of their previous six.
Head-to-head: Napoli have lost only one of their past seven meetings with Empoli across all competitions, picking up five wins and a draw along the way.
It is worth noting that eight of the last ten matches between these two sides have dished up over 3.5 goals, so we are set for a high-scoring clash on Sunday.
Team news: Napoli have a number of notable injury absentees at the moment, including Kalidou Koulibaly, Victor Osimhen, Lorenzo Insigne and Fabian Ruiz.
As for the visitors, they will be without injured centre-forward Emmanuel Ekong for Sunday’s trip to Naples.
Given the recent goalscoring record in this fixture, don’t be surprised to see plenty of goals when Empoli visit Napoli.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score over 1.5 goals on Sunday. However, Napoli are expected to come out on top.
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