Serie A: Sunday Night Features a Clash Between Southern Heavyweights

Napoli vs AS Roma

Serie A contenders Napoli and AS Roma will face off anew this upcoming Sunday night.

This clash between two southern heavyweights will be anything but usual, particularly for the hosts as they will try to draw inspiration after receiving the unfortunate Serie A 2020 news three days ago.

Napoli legend Diego Maradona died at the age of 60 due to a heart attack, which left the football fans all over the world in mourning.

But the show goes on here in the Italian top-flight as the hosts have a lot of catching up to do in order improve on their campaign.

The Partenopei are currently sixth in the standings with 14 points and their recent form has been shaky, while their opponents in AS Roma are at third with 17 points off the bounce.

The Giallorossi are riding high in confidence given their recent form and they will try to seize control by getting another victory.

Here at SBOTOP, let us examine both of these teams to see how they will fare.

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Talking Points

Napoli are in mourning

Naples was rocked upon hearing the passing of Diego Maradona and the Partenopei are hopeful to give the fallen legend a fitting tribute.

Other than aiming to win matches, Napoli will soon rename their home stadium in honor of the Argentine, cementing his legacy in the club’s lore.

Gennaro Gattuso’s men need to act fast in order to keep up in the intensifying title race.

After a hot start to the season, Napoli are currently six points adrift of the league leaders and they have lost two of their last three.

Those two defeats came against Sassuolo and AC Milan at home, which surely dampens their championship aspirations.

The consolation that they have is their recent win against Rijeka in the Europa League, but even the players admitted that it’s still hard to focus on football because of the devastating news.

Napoli will be missing a few players for this match. Centre-back Amir Rrahmani, full-back Elseid Hysaj, forward Victor Osimhen are all out due to COVID-19 and injuries, while midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko will serve his suspension.

Forwards Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens, and Hirving Lozano would need to be on target, while defenders Kalidou Koulibaly, Kostas Manolas, and Piotr Zielinski will have their hands full.

AS Roma stay strong despite injury woes

Unlike Napoli, AS Roma are firing on all cylinders as they have yet to be defeated for a considerable amount of time.

Paulo Fonseca’s side has been as prolific as they come given they’re currently the second-best attacking team with 19 goals.

Undefeated AS Roma are hopeful to trip Napoli’s chances for Serie A title bid — Henrikh Mkhitaryan celebrates scoring AS Roma’s first goal in Europa League match against CFR Cluj at Stadio Olimpico

Their strong attack is spearheaded by their creative playmaker in Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has six goals and five assists already.

He is being backstopped by Jordan Veretout, Pedro, and Edin Dzeko, who have combined for 12 goals and four assists.

However, their problem lies on the depth of their defence as it has been hit with injuries and COVID-19 lately.

Gianluca Mancini and Roger Ibanez are still nursing their thigh injuries, while Chris Smalling remains out due to a knee injury he has suffered earlier this season.

Davide Santon, Federico Fazio, and Marash Kumbulla were all positive for COVID-19 and they remain doubtful ahead of this fixture.

History

Recent form and history favours the visitors in this upcoming tiff.

In their last 29 encounters together, AS Roma have won in 13 games, while Napoli won in 10 along with six draws.

These two sides last met in July where Napoli won with a 2-1 scoreline.

Spanish winger Jose Callejon and skipper Lorenzo Insigne scored one each for the Partenopei, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored the consolation goal for the Giallorossi.

Betting Tip

	Napoli vs AS Roma	1X2 Draw @ 3.50
	November 30, 3:45(GMT+8)

The latest Serie A 2020 odds point to a victory for the home side, although it is also likely that this match can go either way.

Napoli are pegged at 2.21 to win while AS Roma are placed at 3.05 in the 1X2 market. But given how these two match up on paper, I see this fixture finishing with a tight Draw @ 3.50.

Since the game is expected to be close, goals might be hard to come by. So going for Under 2.50 @ 1.77 or Total Goals 2-3 @ 2.08 are safe alternatives as well.

A win for Napoli would surely boost their morale. However, AS Roma wouldn’t provide much sympathy against their grieving opponents as they fight for the Scudetto too.

We can expect a solemn yet celebratory occasion this Sunday, but when the whistle sounds, fans will be treated with the best football action from these two entertaining sides.