Frosinone vs Como Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview
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Fiorentina
NapoliCan Fiorentina keep their momentum rolling under Paolo Vanoli, or will Napoli arrive in Florence and do what they have done repeatedly in recent years and simply shut the party down? That is the question here, and it is a genuinely interesting one because the Viola have a bit of bounce about them right now while Napoli are trying to convince a sceptical fanbase that Massimiliano Allegri is the right man for the job. Two teams with points to prove, one fixture that could swing in either direction.
Let us dig into the form, the numbers, the team news and where the value might lie.
The fixture takes place at Stadio Franchi in Florence, where Fiorentina are looking to end a miserable home record in Serie A this season. This is a top flight Italian clash with real significance for both sides, Fiorentina chasing confidence and Napoli chasing the kind of convincing performance that will ease growing unrest around their own camp.
Fiorentina are in decent shape heading into this one. Vanoli has a near fully fit squad to pick from, with just one confirmed absentee on the injury front.
Napoli head into this one with a much more significant injury list, which could be a factor by the end of ninety minutes.
Vanoli rotated for the Coppa Italia win over Pisa and will likely shuffle again here, but the core of his best XI should be back in from the off. Franco Mastantuono, the Real Madrid loanee who bagged a hat trick on his competitive debut, is expected to start and provides something genuinely different going forward.
Fiorentina expected: De Gea; Mario, Dragusin, Ranieri, Viery; Ndour, Fagioli; Mastantuono, Atta, Njie; Pellegrino
Napoli are without several important players but still have quality throughout. Allegri will likely lean on De Bruyne to pull the strings in behind Hojlund, with Politano and Vergara providing width. The midfield pairing of Gilmour and Lobotka will carry extra responsibility if Anguissa does not pass fit.
Napoli expected: Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Spinazzola; Gilmund, Lobotka; Politano, De Bruyne, Vergara; Hojlund
Fiorentina were in a genuinely difficult place not long ago. Fabio Grosso got shown the door after just four matches and another grim season looked inevitable. Then Vanoli walked back through the door and everything changed almost overnight. A 4-2 win at Venezia, complete with a Mastantuono hat trick, followed by a Coppa Italia victory over Pisa means the Viola have hit seven goals in two games and are playing with a freedom they did not have a few weeks ago. That is a real psychological shift and should not be underestimated.
The caveat, of course, is that both of those opponents were considerably weaker than Napoli. Venezia are a newly promoted side and Pisa came down from Serie A last season. Winning big against lesser teams is one thing. Doing it against a squad packed with Champions League quality is another conversation entirely. Fiorentina have also lost both of their home league games this season, going down to Frosinone and Torino at Stadio Franchi, so the feel good factor has not yet translated into results on their own patch.
Napoli have had a rocky few weeks. Back to back defeats against Inter Milan in Serie A and Arsenal in the Champions League created real pressure on Allegri, who was never the most popular appointment in Naples. A home win against Bologna, sealed by a Lobotka goal, took the edge off things, but the manager knows he needs more. Playing a Fiorentina side that is full of confidence right now is not the most comfortable fixture Allegri could have asked for, but on paper his squad still has more quality and that matters over ninety minutes.
This is where Fiorentina fans might feel a quiet dread setting in. The record between these two sides at Stadio Franchi is not kind to the Viola. Fiorentina have won just one of their last seventeen home Serie A matches against Napoli, and that solitary win came all the way back in April 2018. That is a remarkable statistic and speaks to just how much Napoli have dominated this fixture over the years.
Zoom out even further and the picture is just as stark. Napoli have won the last four meetings between the clubs regardless of venue, scoring at least twice in every single one of those games. Add to that the fact that Allegri himself has lost just one of his last twelve league matches against Fiorentina across his time at AC Milan and Juventus, winning nine of them, and you have a manager and a club that simply know how to handle this fixture. History is firmly in Napoli’s corner here.
Fiorentina’s revival under Vanoli is real but it has come against soft opposition. Napoli arrive here with a superior squad, a manager with an outstanding personal record against the Viola and a historically dominant head to head record at this ground. The injuries in the Napoli camp add some intrigue but not enough to flip the script entirely. This looks like a Napoli win, possibly a tighter one than the head to head might suggest given Fiorentina’s current momentum.
A 2-1 to Napoli feels right here. Fiorentina will get something going forward, they have too much confidence at the moment to be completely shut out, but Napoli have the quality to edge this and De Bruyne and Hojlund can cause real problems against a Fiorentina back line that has been opened up this season.
Yes. Fiorentina have been flying in front of goal and Napoli’s injury situation means they are not quite as watertight defensively as they would like. With Pellegrino in the kind of form he is in and Mastantuono capable of creating something from nothing, the Viola have a real chance of getting on the scoresheet here. Back both teams to score.
Over 3.5 cards looks a reasonable shout in this one. There is an edge to this fixture historically and Fiorentina, playing at home and chasing the game at some point, will need to put in the tackles. Napoli’s midfield, without Anguissa if he does not make it, will be working hard to protect the back four. Expect a competitive game with a few bookings along the way.
Rasmus Hojlund is the call here. He scored his first league goal for Napoli at this exact ground in the corresponding fixture last season, so there is a nice bit of precedent there, and with De Bruyne pulling the strings behind him and creating chances at a rate no other Napoli player is getting close to, Hojlund should get opportunities. He is worth backing to open the scoring.
Over 2.5 goals. Both sides have shown they can score, Napoli have found the net at least twice in each of the last four meetings between these clubs, and Fiorentina have been hitting the back of the net freely in recent weeks. A tight, low scoring affair would be a surprise given the context and the attacking quality on show. Three or more goals looks the most likely outcome.
| Market | Selection |
|---|---|
| Match Result | Napoli to Win |
| Both Teams To Score | Yes |
| First Goalscorer | Rasmus Hojlund |
Napoli winning while both teams score fits neatly with a 2-1 scoreline, and Hojlund as first goalscorer adds extra value to a builder that tells one coherent story about how this game plays out.
Fiorentina have found something under Vanoli and deserve credit for that. The Mastantuono signing looks inspired, Pellegrino is in form and the squad has a belief about it that was completely absent a few weeks ago. But Napoli at Stadio Franchi is a different kind of test. The record in this fixture is damning for the Viola, Allegri has a near faultless personal record against them, and even without several key players Napoli carry enough quality through De Bruyne and Hojlund to punish any defensive lapses.
Napoli to win 2-1 is the call. Fiorentina will give a good account of themselves and this will not be the kind of routine away win the head to head stats might imply, but Napoli have too much experience and too much quality in the final third to come away from Florence without three points.