Napoli will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run in Serie A to nine games when they host Cagliari Calcio on Sunday afternoon.

Rafael Benitez's side began the season slowly, losing two of their opening three league fixtures, but a run of eight without defeat has helped Gli Azzuri up to third position in the league table.

Napoli are also proving to be difficult to break down in defence, with the two-time Serie A winners keeping clean sheets in their last three games.

Benitez was dealt a blow before the international break when star man Lorenzo Insigne suffered a serious knee injury during the 1-0 win against Fiorentina, which is likely to keep him out for the remainder of the season.

Cagliari head to Naples having won just once in six fixtures but with just a four-point margin keeping them out of the top half of the table, Gli Isolani will be content with their start to the campaign.

Head coach Zdenek Zeman will take confidence from his side's emphatic victories over Inter Milan and Hellas Verona on the road with four goals being netted in each fixture.

Zeman will also be hoping that top goalscorers Marco Sau and Albin Ekdal can add to their tally of four strikes for the season.

Napoli:

Form in Serie A: WDWDWW
Form in all competitions: LWDWWW

Possible starting lineup: Rafael, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam, Maggio, Hamsik, David Lopez, Jorginho, Mertens, Higuain, Jose Callejon

Cagliari Calcio:

Recent form: LDWDLD

Possible starting lineup: Cragno, Rossettini, Ceppitelli, Danilo Avelar, Balzano, Conti, Ekdal, Cossu, Joao Pedro, Sau, Diego Farias

Sports Mole says: 3-1

Previews by email