Serie A: Bruised Champions Must Come Out Fighting

Napoli vs Monza

Napoli have had a forgettable time of it during the first half of this campaign, and the 2023 Scudetto winners are suffering from a particularly nasty festive hangover.

After losing a costly match away to Roma they must go again and Serie A: Napoli vs Monza is the chance to give their fans some Christmas cheer, but it won’t be easy against a club which is putting up another strong show in its second season in the top flight. Only four places and six points separate the two teams, currently seventh and 11^th in the table.

Napoli have rung the changes recently, bringing in Walter Mazzarri as head coach but the Partenopei haven’t see a new manager bounce, while 39-year-old Raffaele Palladino is overseeing a calm period of progression at Monza. But the visitors lost their last game, a 1-0 defeat at home to Fiorentina, and at SBOTOP odds of 1.65 to win Napoli are hot favourites to pick up three vital points on Friday. With the race for the top four being white hot, anything other than a home win would be another serious blow to the Partenopei.     

Talking Points

Chaos in Rome

A 2-0 loss to top four rivals Roma is bad enough, but Napoli lost four key players during a disastrous 90 minutes which will leave Mazzarri looking to his squad players to beat Monza. Star striker Victor Osimhen has just signed a new contract and that might give Napoli a boost in the New Year, but not on Friday as he was sent off with two yellow cards in the battle of Rome. The Partenopei were already down to ten men as fellow striker Matteo Politano had been red carded for a hideous challenge, just before Roma took the lead midway through the second half. After Osimhen followed Politano down the tunnel Roma scored a late second and the Napoli fans drifted out of the Stadio Olimpico and back on the train down to Naples.

If that wasn’t bad enough midfield enforcer Stanislav Lobotka broke a rib and centre back Natan dislocated his shoulder to complete the nightmare for Mazzarri, who has just become the tenth manager in Serie A to oversee 500 matches. After replacing Rudi Garcia he will need to use all his experience to turn things around and Mazzarri will be well aware that the club’s owners are not a patient bunch. And on Friday he will look to his still-standing key players to deliver against Monza. Georgian winger Kvicha Kvaratskheliahas scored five goalsand is starting to recapture the form which catapulted him to stardom last season while skipper Giovanni Di Lorenzo is leading from the front with four assists. In the absence of Lobotka, Piotr Zielenksi will shoulder the responsibility in midfield and he can dictate the pace of the game to Napoli’s advantage.      

Monza’s Defensive Rock suspended  

Napoli have plenty of their own problems, but they have a squad dripping with talent and while Monza have become a consistent mid-table side they make the most of what they have. And they will be missing a key man on Friday as defensive lynchpin Pablo Mari picked up a yellow card in the 1-0 loss to La Viola and he will serve a suspension. The 6ft 4in Spaniard is a commanding presence at the heart of defence and he will be missed.

Monza have been superbly consistent again this season and have an eight-point cushion above the relegation zone and Palladino has high hopes of matching last season’s 11^th placed finish. But top flight football can be brutal and a loss on Friday would make it three on the bounce; they lost their last away game 3-0 to AC Milan. They are stronger at home and will play much of the game in Naples on the back foot. But if they do manage to catch Napoli on the break Monza have a dangerous player in attacking midfielder Andrea Colpani who is top scoring in the league with six goals.         

History

The honours have been shared in the head-to-head Napoli vs Monza results with two wins each and two draws in the six encounters so far. Last year the Brianzoli won their home fixture 2-0 but were thumped 4-0 in Naples as Kvicha Kvaratskhelia scored a spectacular double.    

And recent form has been patchy in both cases, I Partenopei have won two and lost four of their last six games, while Monza have won one, drawn two and lost three, but Palladino’s team will be happier with those results, which have kept them happily in mid-table. 

Betting Tip

The pre-match Napoli vs Monza betting odds don’t give Monza a huge amount of hope though they are in the game, priced at 4.39 with the draw at 3.41. But I think this game is much more significant to the hosts; the pressure is on Napoli to deliver and, despite the turmoil in the hosts’ squad I think their passionate fans will roar them home.      

 

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