Serie A 2022-23: Napoli vs Lazio: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

On Friday night, the Neapolitans will host their rivals Biancocelesti from the capital city Rome in what is going to be a feisty encounter.

Napoli can almost sense the Scudetto in their grasp after a slip up by 2nd-placed Inter meant that they have an 18-point lead at the top of the Serie A table.  A recent 2-0 victory away at Empoli chalked off another successive performance for Luciano Spalletti’s men. Napoli have successively won in seven matches across all competitions and have scored 16 goals conceding just one. A UEFA Champions League quarter final is also beckoning for the Partenopei as they have a 2-0 lead after the 1st leg against German opponents, Eintracht Frankfurt. All that is needed for Spalletti’s men is that they keep their composure at this crucial point of the season.

Lazio under Maurizio Sarri have looked consistent and performed way more boisterously. Sitting at 4th in the table with 45 points on board, they will be looking to finish the season on a high note and end up securing a UEFA Champions League spot. They had to scrape out a goal against Sampdoria as Luis Alberto scored the only goal of the game late on to give Lazio a 1-0 victory. Progressing to the Round of 16 after a 1-0 aggregate victory over Romanian opponents CFR Cluj in UEFA Conference League, they were drawn against AZ Alkmaar as a potential European silverware looks in sight for them.

Kick-off:

Friday, 3-03-2023; 07:45 pm (GMT)

Saturday, 4-03-2023; 01:15 am (IST)

Napoli form (all competition): W-W-W-W-W

Lazio form (all competition): W-D-W-W-L

Player to watch

Napoli: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

Kvaratskhelia is a strong finisher, able with both feet, from short and from long range. While he usually strikes after converging from the left, he also roams around the offensive front in search of space to receive the ball and have a shot on goal. He has 10 goals and 11 assists in Serie A this campaign out of 20 appearances.

Lazio: Ciro Immobile

By taking a one-touch shot, Immobile gives the defenders and the goalkeepers no time to react. This is something the Italian striker carries inherently and what makes him special. His career has been a topsy-turvy ride but he still remains threat for Lazio in front of goal. He has 9 goals and 3 assists in Serie A this campaign out of 19 appearances.

Match facts

• Lazio have kept a clean sheet in each of the last four occasions across all competitions.
• Under Luciano Spalletti, Napoli can sense the Scudetto to be almost theirs out of the Maradona era, a feat that was almost achieved by current Lazio Manager, Maurizio Sarri when he was in charge of the Neapolitans back in 2018 when they finished 2nd, 4 points behind winners Juventus.
• The last time these two sides met in Serie A, Kim-Min Jae and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored at the Stadio Olimpico to give Napoli a 2-1 comeback victory after they themselves behind just after 4 minutes.

Injury and team news

It is expected that Luciano Spaletti will be returning to the side that he fielded against Empoli. Mario Rui will be missing this fixture due to a red card suspension. Giovanni Di Lorenzo chalked off a wonderful team goal against Frankfurt in the Champions League, which shows that there are many goal scorers in their ranks. Giacomo Raspadori still remains on the sideline with a hamstring injury and is expected to return by the middle of March.

Pedro suffered a fractured hand against Sampdoria and he will be sidelined for a few weeks now which means that Zaccagni will probably get called back into the first team line up. Sarri’s men will also make the trip without the reliable NIcolo Casale who will be missing this fixture due to a yellow card suspension. A change in the midfield might be a probable ploy for Sarri as he will look to overload Napoli’s defence with the presence of Milinkovic-Savic and Felipe Anderson respectively.

Head-to-Head stats

Matches: 39

Napoli: 21

Draws: 8

Lazio: 10

Predicted lineup

Napoli predicted lineup (4-3-3):

Meret; Di Lorenzo, Kim, Rrahmani, Mathias Oliveira; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Lozano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia

Lazio predicted lineup (4-3-3):

Provedel; Lazzari, Radu, Patric, Marusic; Milinkovic-Savic, Cataldi, L. Alberto; F. Anderson, Immobile, Zaccagni

Prediction

It is very unlikely that the league leaders will slip up in their quest for The Scudetto after a dreaded wait of 33 years. Lazio on the other hand have maintained their consistency and are looking like a solid outfit to beat. Napoli will have to grind out a result but the home advantage might just favour them in this fixture.

Prediction:  Napoli 2-1 Lazio.

Telecast

India- Viacom18, Jio Cinema

USA- Paramount+

UK- BT Sport, Viaplay Sports and OneFootball.

Nigeria- No telecast.