Napoli continue the defence of their Serie A title as they welcome Sassuolo to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for their first home fixture of the season. Both teams had contrasting starts to the season and with Partenopei's superior record in this fixture, a comfortable home win should be on the cards.
Napoli hot their title defence off to a flying start as they claimed a 3-1 victory over newly promoted Frosinone on the opening weekend. They fell behind early in the encounter but fought back through Matteo Politano before Victor Osimhen’s brace sealed the win.
Rudi Garcia’s men are considered one of the favourites for the title this season and while it was only against a newly promoted side, their performance at Frisinone suggests they are up to the task. An opening day win set the tone for a title run last season and having not tasted defeat until January, they will be targeting something similar this term.
One of the more impressive aspects of Napoli’s title run last season was their record at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. The Neapolitans did most of their best work in front of their fans and ended the campaign with three straight wins, conceding one goal in that run.
Despite playing at home on opening weekend, Sassuolo still began their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Atalanta. They were second best throughout the encounter and could only manage three attempts on target.
The task for Sassuolo this term will be to improve on last season’s 13th place finish and possibly break into the top 10. However, it is already looking ominously similar to last season’s apart where they began with a 3-0 defeat to Juventus and claimed just ine win in their opening six fixtures.
One positive for Sassuolo is that they have already won on their travels this season, claiming a 5-2 victory at Cosenza in the first round of the Coppa Italia. However, their general away form in Serie A does not inspire much confidence as Alessio Dionisi’s men are winless in their last five league matches on the road.
How the bookies view it
Napoli are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 1/3 by bet365. An unlikely victory for Sassuolo is valued at 8/1 by Unibet while BoyleSports is offering odds of 9/2 for a draw.
Head to head
Napoli have a 12-2 advantage with seven draws from 21 previous matches against Sassuolo. They did the double over their rivals last season, claiming a 4-0 victory in Naples before picking up a 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in February.
Players to watch
Victor Osimhen will be keen to retain the golden boot and has already set the tone for that target with a brace in the opening weekend. The Nigerian striker scored four goals across two matches with Sassuolo last season and is priced at 4/6 with Unibet.
Napoli boasted one of the beat defensive records in Serie A last season and kept clean sheets across the two meetings with Sassuolo. They will be targeting a similar outcome on Sunday and with Amir Rrahmani still in the heart of that backline, a clean sheet could be on the cards at 13/10 with 10bet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Napoli won to nil in both fixtures against Sassuolo last season and will be targeting a similar outcome at 6/4 with BetVictor. Having earned a 4-0 victory in the meeting in Naples, a -2 handicap can be considered at 23/10 with Paddy Power.
Victor Osimhen opened the scoring in last season’s meeting in Naples and can be backed to grab the first goal on Sunday at 9/4 with bet365.
This Serie A match between Napoli and Sassuolo will be played on Aug 27, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Napoli vs Sassuolo prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
