Napoli to Finish 2017 with a Bang
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Serie A resumes after Christmas with a match on Friday night between Crotone and Napoli at the Stadio Ezio Scida.
Napoli will be aiming to end the year sitting top of the league and know a win will guarantee them first place heading into the New Year, regardless of other results.
A win is a must for Crotone if they want to escape the relegation zone and begin the second half of the season in a safe position in the league. There is all to play for in a game which has an impact on both the top and bottom of Serie A.
Crotone start this match sitting 18th in Serie A and trends show they have won only one of their last six league games and one of their last seven in all competitions. Not only have Crotone won just one of their last six league games, they have lost five of them too.
This is a poor record and it is easy to see why, having picked up just 3 points from the last possible 18 available, Crotone are in the relegation zone.
Scoring goals has become a big problem for Crotone in recent weeks and they have failed to find the back of the net in four of their last six Serie A games.
Napoli start this match 1 point clear of Juventus at the top of Serie A having recovered well from a period of games which threatened to ruin their great start to the campaign.
Having lost 1-0 at home to the defending champions, Napoli lost at Feyenoord in the Champions League and were then held at home by Fiorentina. Talk was beginning to emerge of a possible Napoli collapse.
However, following the draw with Fiorentina, Napoli have won three games in a row in all competitions, picking up wins against Torino and Sampdoria in Serie A and Udinese in the Coppa Italia.
Trends show Napoli are undefeated in each of their last twenty-two matches away from home in Serie A, which is a fantastic record.
They have also won eleven of their last twelve league games on the road, so not only are Napoli difficult to beat, they have been winning matches regularly.
Looking ahead to the potential team news and Crotone will be without forward Marco Tumminello, who is expected to remain on the treatment table until February.
Napoli also have a couple of long-term absentees, with striker Arkadiusz Milik and full-back Faouzi Ghoulam both suffering from cruciate ligament injuries. Milik is closest to a return but not until February at the earliest.
Having got back into the habit of winning matches, Napoli will be in no mood to drop points in this game. They have a fantastic away record in Serie A and will see this as the perfect opportunity to win and keep a clean sheet.
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