Serie A Preview: S.S.C Napoli vs. ACF Fiorentina- Can Cavani inspire the hosts?
Two in-form teams, Napoli and Fiorentina go head to head in what promises to be an exciting clash at the Stadio San Paolo on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 19:45 GMT.
Both teams have picked up two wins each from their opening three games of the season and have tasted a defeat too. Napoli lost 1-0 to Chievo Verona in the midweek, while Fiorentina thrashed Parma 3-0 in their previous game.
Walter Mazzarri’s men are currently placed 4th on the league table while the Viola side is on 5th spot.
Napoli
The Partenopei side had a wonderful start to the ongoing campaign but defeat to Chievo handed them their first defeat of the season. Manager, Mazzarri, was happy to lose the game and believes that it will serve as a wake-up call
for his boys.
Napoli have not had the best of times playing against Fiorentina and have picked up only one win in their last five head to head showdowns. The corresponding fixture of the last season finished stalemate earlier this year.
Fiorentina
Siniša Mihajlović’s men recovered well from the 2-0 defeat to Udinese in the second game and their performance against Parma was top class. Fiorentina’s last win at the Stadio San Paolo came in the league meeting between the two
sides in March 2010 when they trounced the Azzurri 3-1.
The Gigliati will look to continue their winning momentum to make a strong case for a third place finish and a return to UEFA Champions League next season.
Team News
Napoli
Mazzarri is expected to recall several of his first-team stars whom he rested for the Chievo clash. Edinson Cavani, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Andrea-Dossena-c5683 are all expected to be back in the starting line-up. The manager
cited fatigue and hectic schedule as the reason for dropping the players. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Christian-Maggio-c9098 are still out injured for the hosts.
Expected line-up: De Sanctis; Fernandez, Campagnaro, Cannavaro; Zuniga, Inler, Gargano, Dossena; Hamsik, Lavezzi; Cavani
Fiorentina
Prolific striker, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Santiago-Silva-c32525.
Expected line-up: Boruc; Cassani Gamberini, Natali, Pasqual; Behrami, Montolivo, Lazzari; Cerci, Jovetic, Silva
Players to Watch
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Napoli-c40003)
El-Matador will once again be the main man for the Partenopei side. The Uruguayan was dropped to the bench in his team’s defeat to Chievo in the midweek. The former Palermo star came off the bench in the second half but could not
inspire his team to victory. Cavani scored a fantastic hat-trick against A.C Milan in his team’s 3-1 win over the Italian Champions.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Stevan-Jovetic-c34163 (Fiorentina)
The young Montenegrin was inspirational in his team’s 3-0 win over Parma in the midweek and scored a brace. The 21-year-old has always enjoyed playing against Napoli and was inspirational in his team’s 3-1 win over them in 2010.
Jo-Jo has developed himself as one of the best young stars on the continent and will definitely be one of the main players if the Viola are to take anything from the game.
Prediction
It will once again be a tight game as witnessed in the past. However, given the strength of Napoli attack, they are likely to emerge victorious this time around.
Verdict: 2-1
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