Napoli vs Atalanta

Stadio Diego Armando Maradona plays host to a blockbuster Serie A showdown between league-toppers Napoli and fourth-placed Atalanta.

Following an electric 11-game start to this Serie A campaign (W10, D1), Napoli seem to have run out of steam of late, having won just one of their last four league matches (D2, L1). With their advantage over second-placed Milan now reduced to a single point, ‘I Partenopei’ cannot afford another slip-up here. Easier said than done, though, with Napoli losing three of their last five Serie A meetings with Atalanta (W1, D1), as many defeats as they had in their previous 12 H2Hs in the competition. After falling to a 4-2 reverse in their most recent Serie A H2H back in February, they could lose back-to-back league matches against this opposition for the first time since 2016/17. Though they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five Serie A home encounters against Atalanta, Luciano Spalletti’s men boast the best defensive record in the competition this term (9 goals conceded).

Coming into this matchday, Atalanta have won four consecutive Serie A matches, including the last two without conceding a single goal. Another shutout in Naples would see them keep three Serie A clean sheets in a row for the first time since July 2020. Notably, ‘La Dea’ have won eight of their previous nine Serie A away matches, including the last four in a row; only once in their history have they won five successive top-flight games on hostile turf. Delivering action from the get-go, Atalanta are the only Serie A side to have scored 10+ first-half goals away from home this season. Indeed, there’s been plenty of early action in Atalanta’s Serie A travels this term, with five of their seven away league matches so far featuring at least one goal inside the opening 15 minutes of play.