Napoli will be looking to reach the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia for the fifth time in six years when they host Hellas Verona on Wednesday evening at the Stadio San Paolo.
The Partenopei enter the competition in the Round of 16 while the Mastini have already bested Foggia and Pavia to get to this point.
Napoli have seen their form dip slightly over the past couple of weeks, with a shock 3-2 loss to Bologna followed by a 0-0 draw against Roma.
Verona Coach Luigi Delneri will be hoping that his side can continue their winning ways in the cup while currently marred by a disastrous Serie A campaign in which they have earned a mere two points from their last eight matches. A 1-1 draw away to Milan last weekend could provide a much-needed boost in morale.
Although the two sides have never met in this competition, Napoli have controlled the fixture throughout league play with eight victories, five draws and four defeats since the 1996-1997 season.
Their most recent meeting transpired less than a month ago with Napoli claiming a 2-0 away victory thanks to second-half goals from Lorenzo Insigne and Gonzalo Higuain.
The Azzurri have won the Coppa Italia a total of five times, most recently in the 2013-2014 edition. The Gialloblu have never lifted the trophy but have come close on three occasions, losing in the finals in 1976, 1983 and 1984.
Napoli have nearly a full squad to choose from. Manolo Gabbiadini has been training separately from the rest of the squad and it appears unlikely that coach Maurizio Sarri will want to risk him midweek.
Verona’s injury list is more extensive with Romulo, Michelangelo Albertazzi, Matuzalem, Juanito Gomez, Giampaolo Pazzini and Samuel Souprayen all set to miss out.
Neither team are facing any suspensions.
Form Guide: Napoli (W-W-W-L-D) Verona (L-L-L-L-D)
Expected Starting XIs:
Napoli: Reina; Strinic, Chiriches, Henrique, Maggio; Valdifiori, Chalobah, El Kaddouri; Mertens, Callejon, Higuain
Verona: Gollini; Pisano, Bianchetti, Helander, Badan; Ionita, Checchin, Hallfredsson; Jankovic, Siligardi, Toni
