We have reached the semi final stage of the 2020/21 Coppa Italia and on Wednesday the 3rd of February the first leg of the tie between Napoli and Atalanta will be played at the Stadio San Paolo, Naples.
As things stand in the Italian Serie A, Napoli are in 5th place on 37 points while Atalanta are in 7th place on 36 points, so this could be a close game.
Napoli come into the match having defeated Parma 2-0 at home in Serie A on the weekend. That was their second victory in succession following the 4-2 win over Spezia at home in the quarter final of the Coppa Italia.
The results mean Napoli have won 5 of their last 7 matches in all competitions, including a home victory against Empoli in the Coppa Italia.
Napoli have played only two games in the cup this season, both of which have been at home and Napoli were the strong favourites to progress. They are the defending Coppa Italia champions after all, following their triumph on penalties against Juventus in the final last season.
Trends show Napoli are undefeated in their last 7 Coppa Italia matches. They have tasted success at home against Perugia and Lazio plus a 0-0 draw against Inter Milan at home in the semi final last season was enough to see them go through.
Atalanta come into the match having lost 3-1 at home against Lazio in Serie A on the weekend. It was a disappointing result as it saw Atalanta fall behind in the race to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League next season.
However, it was their first defeat in 15 games in all competitions and there is no need to panic.
Atalanta have been extremely difficult to beat in recent months and you must go back 11 matches in all competitions to find the last time they tasted defeat away from home. However, the loss came at Napoli and was a 4-1 defeat in Serie A.
Atalanta have lost only 2 of their last 8 Coppa Italia games but their away record is not great in the competition. Atalanta have won just 2 of their 10 most recent away Coppa Italia fixtures. One of those victories did come against Napoli back in 2018.
Team news and Napoli will be without Dries Mertens and Fabián Ruiz Peña. It will be interesting to see if Gennaro Gattuso sticks with the team that started on the weekend or brings in the likes of Matteo Politano, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Nikola Maksimović, and Elseid Hysaj.
Atalanta are without Cristian Gabriel Romero and Hans Hateboer. Gianpiero Gasperini may opt to start Ruslan Malinovskyi, Mario Pašalić, Luis Muriel, Sam Lammers, and Mattia Caldara.
We are expecting to see goals in this game and it would not be a surprise for there to be over 2.5 goals and for both teams to score. However, Napoli have been strong in the Coppa Italia recently, with Atalanta struggling on the road and the hosts could secure a narrow victory.
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