Napoli will look to get their title charge back on track when they host Chievo in their Serie A game at the Stadio San Paolo on Saturday evening.
The Partenopei were held to a 1-1 draw with Fiorentina on Monday evening meaning Juventus now have a three point lead over Maurizio Sarri’s men at the top of the table having beaten Inter 2-0 on Sunday.
It was the third time in as many games that Napoli have dropped points having also drawn 1-1 with AC Milan and lost 1-0 to Juventus in their previous two matches, and they now face the task of keeping pace with the Bianconeri who are unbeaten in 17 Serie A games.
Having been eliminated from the Europa League, Napoli will perhaps now find it easier to concentrate on the task at hand in Serie A, however adding the two games against Villarreal into their recent form means they are without a win in five games in all competitions.
Chievo on the other hand have a lot less to play for as they sit 10th in the standings with little risk of relegation and yet sit too far off the pace to challenge for European qualification.
As would be expected for a mid-table side, their recent form has been very inconsistent with two wins, two defeats and one draw from their last five games.
For a side who sold Alberto Paloschi to Swansea City in January, maintaining their position in Serie A this season may be a victory in itself and they need just nine points from their last 11 games to equal last season’s points total of 43.
When the two sides met in October at the Stadio Marc’Antonio Bentegodi, Napoli came away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal from Gonzalo Higuain, one of the 25 league goals he has bagged this season.
Historically the sides have met 19 times with the Partenopei winning 11 of those meetings, Chievo winning six and two ending in a draw.
In team news, Vlad Chiriches will come in for the suspended Raul Albiol in the centre of Napoli’s defence while Omar El Kaddouri will miss the game through injury.
The hosts are without Massimo Gobbi who will be serving a suspension and they have one absence through injury in defender Alessandro Gamberini.
Form Guide: Napoli (W-W-L-D-D) Chievo (L-W-D-L-W)
Expected Starting XIs:
Napoli: Reina; Ghoulam, Koulibaly, Chiriches, Hysaj; Hamsik, Jorginho, Allan; Insigne, Higuain, Callejon
Chievo: Bizzarri; Frey, Cesar, Dainelli, Cacciatore; Castro, Radovanovic, Rigoni, Birsa; Meggiorini, Inglese
