Napoli will be hoping to stay in the title race when they host Empoli in Monday night’s Serie A action. After dropping valuable points in recent weeks, they’ve slipped behind leaders Inter Milan and can’t afford any more slip-ups. Napoli have only managed two wins from their last nine league matches, with no other team across Europe’s top five leagues drawing more in that period. Frustratingly, they’ve failed to hold onto a lead in four of those games.
Although Napoli are unbeaten in their last five home matches, they haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of them, raising concerns that they may once again struggle to finish the job — especially if they take the lead early on. However, a visit from relegation-threatened Empoli could be just what they need, as Napoli haven’t conceded a single goal this season, home or away, against teams that started the weekend in the bottom four.
Empoli remain in the bottom three and are still searching for their first win in 16 games, equalling a club record for the longest winless run in Serie A. But they’ll be hoping to pull off a surprise, especially after winning on two of their last three visits to Naples. Still, this season tells a different story — Empoli have failed to beat any of the current top-six sides, drawing three and losing seven, while conceding 15 goals across five defeats against the top three.
That record looks even less promising under coach Roberto D’Aversa, who has never drawn against Napoli in nine previous encounters.
Players to keep an eye on include André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, who has scored six goals for Napoli in Serie A this season — only Romelu Lukaku has more. All three of Anguissa’s home goals came after the 55th minute. For Empoli, Lorenzo Colombo might be the danger man, with 11 of his 14 Serie A goals coming away from home. Interestingly, his very first came at this stadium against Napoli.
Napoli have picked up a league-high average of 1.4 points per game after conceding first this season, showing they don’t give up easily.
