Monza vs Napoli

High-flying Napoli head to the Stadio Brianteo to take on Serie A debutants Monza in a match that has all the makings of a ‘dead rubber.’

After an eye-catching run of three consecutive league victories, Raffaele Palladino’s men have drawn the last two in a row by an identical 1-1 scoreline, coming from behind to claim a point on each occasion. Unbeaten in six straight Serie A games in the lead-up to this fixture (W3, D3), Monza will be looking to win points against a side starting the round in the top three after losing all five such outings this season, conceding an average of 2.6 goals per game. Playing at the Brianteo should lend them a helping hand, considering they’ve only lost two of their nine top-flight home matches in 2023 (W2, D5), though both those defeats came against teams currently embroiled in a top-five scrap.

On the other hand, despite missing a first penalty, Serie A top-scorer Victor Osimhen (23) slotted home the second to fire Napoli to a 1-0 home win over Fiorentina last weekend, kickstarting wild celebrations on city streets. After extending their unbeaten league run to six matches (W3, D3), ‘I Partenopei’ hit the road as newly-crowned champions for the first time in 33 years, seeking a first-ever season double over Monza following a 4-0 demolition in the reverse fixture. The visitors have never lost an away league H2H (W2, D3), which will likely continue this weekend, considering they’ve been the best away team in Serie A this season by some margin (W14, D2, L1). Indeed, before drawing 1-1 at Udinese on their last top-flight travel, Luciano Spalletti’s men had won eight straight away league matches, seven of which without conceding.