Serie A: Napoli Still Have a Puncher’s Chance at the Scudetto

Torino vs Napoli

Napoli are not technically out of the Serie A title race just yet and they’re out for more points as they’ll visit Torino this Saturday.

I Partenopei are currently at third with 70 points. And if they’ll win these next three matches, they might have a chance of bringing home the Scudetto, although they need multiple slip-ups from both AC and Inter Milan as the former remain the leaders with 77 points, while the latter are right behind them with 75.

They’ll be facing a much-improved Torino team, who are undefeated so far in the month of April. Il Toro are placed 10^th with 47 points and they’re poised for their best finish since placing 7^th during the 2018/19 season.

The pre-match SBOTOP betting odds have the visitors favoured to win this match, but the hosts are not far behind. Overall, we expect another competitive affair similar to what happened during their reverse fixture.

Talking Points

Torino continue to rely on highly-coveted Andrea Belotti

It’s no coincidence that Torino are playing much better now that Andrea Belotti’s healthy again. After suffering a serious hamstring injury few months ago, he has been in a rich vein of form.

He has now moved up in Torino’s scoring charts with eight goals and one assist after scoring a hat-trick in their 3-1 win over Empoli last matchday, and the team will rely on his heroics once more in their last three league games of the season.

Now that he’s back and because he’ll be a free agent this summer, Belotti’s name is popping up in numerous transfer rumours where several Premier League clubs are expected to bid for his services.

Andrea Belotti has scored a career total of 158 goals and he’s also an established name for the Italian national team with 40 caps. Plus, he’s still in his prime since he’s 28 years old.

Whether he stays or leaves Turin remains to be seen, but it would be great if Torino could make the most out of these last few games with him in their lineup.

Other than Belotti, Torino have other quality players who can cause problems for Napoli’s leaky defence, as Antonio Sanabria, Josip Brekalo, and Sasa Lukic have accounted for 17 goals and eight assists total.

Napoli looking to finish the season strong

Napoli were in dire need of a response last weekend, and respond they did as they defeated Sassuolo with a 6-1 scoreline to give them a sliver of hope as far as their Scudetto hopes are concerned.

Five different players scored in the said match as Kalidou Koulibaly, Victor Osimhen, Hirving Lozano, and Amir Rrahmani had one apiece while Dries Mertens registered a brace.

It was one of their most complete performances this season, but there’s more work to be done on the other side of the pitch.

I Partenopei have conceded in each of their last 11 Serie A games, which isn’t great, although they shouldn’t have any problems in outscoring Torino on Saturday.

History

Napoli have had Torino’s number lately in Serie A since they’ve won nine of their last 13 league meetings against them (D4). I Partenopei’s last league loss against Il Toro dates back to March 2015 when Kamil Glik led Torino to a 1-0 victory.

I Partenopei’s last two victories over Il Toro were clean sheets, and they could keep another one in three straight games in a row for the first time since 1982. Torino have also gained a grand total of one point in their last six Serie A home games against Napoli.

These two sides last faced off in October where Napoli came away with a 1-0 win as top scorer Victor Osimhen found the back of the net during the 81^st-minute.

But in terms of recent form, Torino have the edge with three wins and three draws in their last six, while Napoli have three wins, two losses, and one draw during the said stretch.

Betting Tip 

The Serie A 2022 odds are backing Napoli to win this weekend. They are priced at 2.09, while Torino are installed at 3.40 and chances for a draw are at 3.35 in the 1X2 market.

Over 2.50 @ 1.82 sounds like a good alternative bet given the talented attackers from both teams, so fans can anticipate several Serie A 2022 highlights from this contest.

This is a must-win for Napoli since a draw or a loss could ultimately cost them any lingering chance of a title push, so we’d expect nothing less from them this Saturday.

 

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