Serie A leaders Napoli will seek to tighten their grip on top spot this weekend, when they welcome lowly Lecce to Stadio Maradona.
The teams convene on Saturday afternoon, with the hosts hunting a fourth straight win and their ailing visitors sitting second-bottom after a six-goal thumping last week.
Match preview
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Despite being below their best, Napoli picked up where they left off before the international break by beating Empoli last time out; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored from the spot after a foul on Matteo Politano, securing a two-point lead at the Serie A summit.
A total of 19 points from eight games is the Partenopei's fourth-best tally this century, and Antonio Conte has already transformed a team that toiled badly last term and failed to secure European qualification.
Benefiting from midweek breaks while their rivals travel around the continent, Napoli are no doubt aiming to win back the Scudetto from Conte's former club Inter Milan, and a superb recent record bears all the hallmarks of potential title contenders.
The Campanian club have kept a clean sheet in four of their last five league matches, with an aggregate score of 10-1 in their favour, and since the start of September only Juventus can match their defensive performance.
Far from fussed about keeping the ball, Napoli are the only leading club in Europe's top five leagues to rank outside the top three for average possession, having just the 11th highest share in Serie A this season (47%) - but they can be ruthless on the break.
Now, Conte meets the club with whom he made his senior debut back in 1986, at the tender age of 16 years and 249 days; incidentally, his first goal came against Napoli three years later.
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Although Lecce have not beaten this week's hosts in their last four attempts - failing to even score a goal in the teams' two most recent meetings - they are actually undefeated in three league visits to Naples.
They will hope rather than expect to come away unscathed on this occasion, after last week's 6-0 thrashing by Fiorentina left Luca Gotti's job in serious danger.
Once his team went down to 10 men following Antonino Gallo's first-half dismissal they crumbled to a humbling home defeat at Via Del Mare, sparking a crisis meeting between Gotti and the Salentini's club president.
He remains in-post for now, but Lecce are sitting in 19th place with just five points on the board, and they have scored the fewest goals of any side across Europe's top five leagues - just three so far.
Meanwhile, with 18 conceded, only Montpellier HSC have a worse goal difference than the Giallorossi, who face an early relegation six-pointer with Hellas Verona next week.
Team News
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As Stanislav Lobotka is still sidelined by a thigh strain sustained while on Slovakia duty, Antonio Conte should hand another start to Billy Gilmour in Napoli's midfield, despite criticising the Scotland star's first-half performance last week.
First-choice goalkeeper Alex Meret has returned to training and is set to supplant Elia Caprile between the posts.
With either a goal or an assist, Romelu Lukaku would reach 100 goal involvements in Serie A (having racked up 73 goals and 26 assists so far), and he should be supported by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the final third.
The latter ranks second for most shots from outside the box this season (12), while Lecce striker Nikola Krstovic tops that chart with 15. Krstovic also leads the way in terms of total attempts (35) but has only produced two league goals so far.
The Salentini will be without Gallo, who is suspended due to his red card last weekend, while their injury list features Kevin Bonifazi, Filip Marchwinski and Medon Berisha.
Gallo's absence could see Danish winger Patrick Dorgu restored to his former position at full-back, perhaps opening up a chance for Lameck Banda or Tete Morente to start.
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Olivera; Anguissa, Gilmour; Neres, McTominay, Kvaratskhelia; Lukaku
Lecce possible starting lineup:
Falcone; Guilbert, Gaspar, Baschirotto, Dorgu; Ramadani, Pierret; Banda, Oudin, Rebic; Krstovic
We say: Napoli 3-0 Lecce
There is a huge gulf in both quality and confidence within the two camps, as Napoli are riding the crest of a wave and Lecce cannot score or keep a clean sheet.
The Serie A leaders are set to extend their winning streak, while their visitors could finish the week rock-bottom of the standings.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
