Hellas Verona vs Napoli
Like AC Milan not too long ago, Napoli bottled their big chance to take the top spot of the Serie A table and they’re keen to return to winning ways when they’ll visit Hellas Verona this upcoming Sunday.
Luciano Spalletti’s side has fallen to third place after coming off of a tough loss against current pacesetters AC Milan, but time is still on their side to try and grab their first Scudetto since the 1989/90 season.
Napoli can improve their place given this easier part of the schedule. After taking on Hellas Verona this weekend, they are set to meet with 14th-placed Udinese at home.
Regardless, I Partenopei cannot let their guard down even for one bit since I Gialloblu are on an unbeaten run with two wins and two draws in their last four and they’re sitting at ninth at the standings.
The pre-match SBOTOP betting odds expect another tough matchup between these two sides given how their reverse fixture went, making this a fun game to watch by their fans and neutrals alike.
Talking Points
Hellas Verona moving up
For a team that’s tipped to be one of the relegation strugglers prior to this season, Hellas Verona have been punching above their weight and they might contend for a spot in Europe if certain things fall into place.
When Ivan Juric left for Torino, there were doubts on whether his replacement in Igor Tudor can replicate their success last term, but Tudor has proven skeptics wrong since he’s doing such a great job.
Tudor has turned I Gialloblu into one of the underrated attacking teams in Serie A as they are fourth in terms of total goals scored so far.
Their top scorer is Giovanni Simeone with 15 goals and three assists, and it’s clear that football runs in the family since his dad is Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone.
Supporting Simeone are Gianluca Caprari and Antonin Barak, who combine for 20 goals and 11 assists. Caprari is currently on loan from Sampdoria while Barak has been reportedly garnering interest from Lazio and AC Milan.
The only thing that needs work for them to truly contend is their defence as they haven’t secured a clean sheet in the past three games. But overall, they’re a tough nut to crack.
No time to waste for Napoli
Napoli are definitely all-in for this Serie A season so their most recent loss against AC Milan is a tough pill to swallow.
I Partenopei conceded a 49th-minute goal from Olivier Giroud and they couldn’t find the equaliser despite chances from their top scorer Victor Osimhen.
AC Milan were the more organised squad. And despite some controversy when Victor Osimhen wasn’t given the penalty following his contact with Fikayo Tomori, I Rossoneri deserved to win the match.
So now it’s back to the drawing board for Luciano Spalletti and we expect them to come out strong this weekend.
Victor Osimhen, Lorenzo Insigne, Piotr Zielinski, Matteo Politano, and Fabian Ruiz should all continue to lead up front, and they’re all eager to get back into the Serie A 2022 highlights reel.
History
Napoli is looking like a favourable matchup for Hellas Verona here in Serie A. It was only against Fiorentina (W14) that they’ve won more league games than against Napoli (W13, D14, L30).
I Gialloblu are undefeated in their last three Serie A meetings against I Partenopei (W1, D2), which matches their longest such run in the competition in April 1987.
Their reverse fixture yielded a 1-1 draw as Giovanni Simeone and Giovanni Di Lorenzo scored one goal each within the game’s first 20 minutes.
Napoli had a great chance to win when Daniel Bessa and Nikola Kalinic were both sent off late to get the numbers advantage, but they just couldn’t find the back of the net.
Betting Tip
Napoli are the favourites to win in this contest by the updated Serie A 2022 odds, albeit via a slim margin. I Partenopei are priced at 2.07, while a Hellas Verona win is pegged at 3.55 and a draw is at 3.30 in the 1×2 market.
During their reverse fixture, both sides jumped out with one goal each early in the first half and it’s possible that they’ll do it again, making Draw First Half 1×2 @ 2.10 a good alternative bet.
In the end, though, Napoli are the much better team compared to Hellas Verona and they should be able to take all three points.
The pressure is on Napoli rather than on Hellas Verona since this is a must-win game for them to keep their Scudetto hopes alive.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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