After suffering their first Serie A home defeat of the season, Napoli will be determined to resume normal service when they welcome Atalanta BC to Stadio Maradona on Saturday.
The runaway league leaders saw their advantage cut to 15 points following their loss to Lazio, while La Dea's recent downturn has seen them slip out of the top four.
Match preview
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Having previously won a fifth straight away game without conceding a single goal, last time out Serie A title favourites Napoli returned to home soil with the chance of going 21 points clear and getting one hand on the Scudetto.
The Partenopei's clash with southern rivals Lazio, however, did not follow the script, as after playing out a tightly-contested first hour they saw Alex Meret beaten by Matias Vecino's thumping strike from the edge of the area, and they were ultimately unable to respond - top scorer Victor Osimhen hitting the woodwork with a header being their closest attempt.
Conceding a goal for the first time since January resulted in a rare defeat for Luciano Spalletti's side, and after losses to Lazio and Inter since the winter break, they have now lost two of their last four games against top-six opponents, having gone unbeaten in each of their previous five.
Nonetheless, as they prepare to tackle Italy's sixth-ranked side on Saturday, Napoli still reign supreme at the Serie A summit and will also take a 2-0 lead into the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Eintracht Frankfurt next week.
In addition to potentially reaching a European quarter-final, their league record of 21 wins from 25 fixtures speaks for itself, and they have racked up 58 goals in the process - conceding just 16.
Yet, Napoli have won only one of their last four home matches against Atalanta, and the clubs' most recent meeting in Naples resulted in a 3-2 defeat for the home side in December 2021.
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Picking up one point in their last three games - part of a run featuring three defeats from five - leaves Atalanta struggling to keep pace with Serie A's top teams coming into the final third of the season.
La Dea's dreams of returning to the Champions League faded further after a goalless draw at home to an ailing Udinese side last weekend, which followed losses to Lecce and Milan.
Any ambitions of silverware were extinguished with their Coppa Italia exit to Inter in January, and last year's springtime slump left them without European football this term, so all efforts will be trained on reversing a decline that sees them now sit five points adrift of both Roma and Milan.
After a prolific start to 2023, Atalanta have failed to find the net in either of their last two matches: only once previously under long-serving coach Gian Piero Gasperini have they failed to score in three successive league games - and not since 2018.
The Bergamo side have, though, found the net in each of their last nine league matches against Napoli - their longest scoring run against them in Serie A - so will aim to make it a perfect 10 on Saturday evening.
Team News
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Still without the suspended Mario Rui due to his sending-off against Empoli, Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti may now have to make a change in attack following an injury sustained by Hirving Lozano.
The latter's muscular problem opens the door for Matteo Politano to start on the right wing, while Mathias Olivera continues to deputise at left-back.
After narrowly failing to find the net for a ninth consecutive league game last time out, Victor Osimhen aims to avoid going successive Serie A matches without scoring for the first time since September. The much-coveted striker has scored in two of three previous appearances against Atalanta, including his very first goal in Italy's top flight.
He also has the best minutes-per-goal ratio in Serie A this season (of those with five or more strikes), and the man ranked second on that list, fellow Nigeria international Ademola Lookman, will line up for Atalanta at Stadio Maradona.
Rasmus Hojlund and Jeremie Boga should join Lookman in an attacking triumvirate, and despite La Dea's recent lack of goals, Boga has delivered more assists in Serie A this year (five) than any other player.
Gian Piero Gasperini could be forced into changes elsewhere, though, as Teun Koopmeiners and Davide Zappacosta have both picked up thigh strains. Ederson is in pole position to replace the Dutch midfielder, while Matteo Ruggeri may start on the left flank.
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Kim, Rrahmani, Olivera; Ndombele, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
Atalanta BC possible starting lineup:
Musso; Toloi, Palomino, Djimsiti; Maehle, De Roon, Ederson, Ruggeri; Boga; Lookman, Hojlund
We say: Napoli 2-0 Atalanta BC
Only one of the last 15 Serie A encounters between Napoli and Atalanta has been drawn, and that trend can continue this week as the hosts get back on track after a rare taste of defeat. Their fearsome front line cannot be denied for another 90 minutes, while their visitors have suddenly run short of goals.
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