Napoli can apply more pressure on their Milanese rivals by beating relegation-threatened Verona in the early Serie A fixture on Wednesday.
The Parthenopeans kicked off the new year in style with a convincing 2-0 over Lazio last week, and it was never even close. The champions will be looking forward to returning home for a less demanding clash with Verona, and they have every right to be confident with their unbeaten home record.
Antonio Conte’s side is on a sensational run of four 2-0 wins in a row, meaning they last conceded a goal in the shocking 1-0 loss to Udinese in mid-December. This will be their first home match since winning the Supercoppa Italiana, so the visitors may be in for a heavy beating.
Verona’s hopes of escaping the relegation zone after their B2B wins in December were quickly put to rest by back-to-back 3-0 losses.
The problems run deep in Paolo Zanetti’s side, as Verona have both the worst defence in the league and the second-worst attack, with a 13:28 goal difference after 17 rounds.
How the bookies view it: Napoli are clear to win comfortably
Given the champions' home form, it is almost pointless to look for a simple bet in their favor, because bookmakers give them only 7/20 to win.
It makes more sense to look for the almost impossible surprise, because Verona are available at 8/1. A draw is also highly priced at 4/1.
Recent head-to-head: The Blues are unbeaten in 26 home H2Hs
An interesting fact is that Napoli have often struggled in their matches against Verona in recent years, with five wins in their last 10 meetings. More importantly, the Mastiffs won 3-0 in the reverse fixture last season, but lost the equivalent match 2-0.
We should also not overlook the fact that Napoli have not lost to Verona at home in 26 consecutive matches.
Players to watch: Hojlund has found his place
Rasmus Hojlund is in the midst of the best season of his career, with six goals and two assists in 13 appearances in Serie A.
A week ago, he scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Cremonese, and recently, he was involved in both goals against AC Milan in the Super Cup semi-final.
Probable line-ups
Napoli: Milinkovic-Savic, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Jesus, Politano, Lobotka, McTominay, Spinazzola, Elmas, Lang, Hojlund
Verona: Montipo, Nunez, Nelsson, Bella-Kotchap, Frese, Gagliardini, Niasse, Oyegoke, Giovane, Bernede, Mosquera
Anything else catch the eye?
Antonio Conte’s side has been flawless defensively over the past month and we can’t imagine Verona scoring on Wednesday. It would take a miracle or a mistake like a penalty, which is highly unlikely given Napoli’s dominance against Lazio.
Verona will likely spend the entire match deep within their own half, and the real question is how many goals Napoli will score. Therefore, BTTS-No or Napoli & Over 1.5 goals are our priority picks for this fixture.
There are other options, of course, like Napoli to win at HT, but we wouldn't go that far when we have safer options.
Think both sides will find the net? Our BTTS Masterclass explains how to spot the fixtures where goals are a given.
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