SSC Napoli vs Lazio – 03/03/2023
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Napoli will continue their seemingly unstoppable pursuit of Serie A glory when they welcome Lazio to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Friday night.
With a third of the season remaining, Napoli find themselves a whopping 18 points clear of second-placed Inter Milan at the summit of the Serie A table.
Meanwhile, Lazio occupy fourth place in the standings – two points shy of AC Milan and Inter but 20 points behind Napoli.
Napoli extended their winning streak in Serie A to eight games with a 2-0 victory over Empoli last weekend, recording their fourth consecutive clean sheet in the process.
Not only have Luciano Spalletti’s side won 19 of their last 20 Serie A matches, but they have also suffered a solitary defeat in 24 league outings this term.
Better still, Napoli boast the best offensive record (58) and the best defensive record (15) in the division, while Victor Osimhen leads the Golden Boot race with 19 goals in 20 appearances.
With Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – who has bagged 12 goals and 15 assists across all competitions this season – supporting Osimhen, Napoli are extremely difficult to stop.
As for Lazio, they have won 13 of their 24 league games this term, registering six draws and five losses to keep them 20 points Napoli.
It is worth noting that Maurizio Sarri’s men have the second-best defensive record in the league, having conceded 19 goals this season.
The Eagles head into Friday’s clash on the back of two straight clean-sheet victories, with a 2-0 win at Salernitana preceding a 1-0 victory against Sampdoria on Monday.
Although Lazio have lost just one of their last eight Serie A games – picking up four wins and three draws along the way – they will likely struggle to keep Napoli quiet.
Head-to-head: Not only have Napoli won each of their last four meetings with Lazio, but they have also won six of the previous seven.
It is also worth noting that Lazio have only managed to win two of their past 16 matches against Napoli, suffering 13 defeats along the way.
Team news: Napoli will be without Giacomo Raspadori on Friday as the Sassuolo loanee continues to recover from a hamstring issue.
On the flip side, Lazio have reported no fresh injury problems ahead of Friday’s clash, meaning Sarri has a full-strength squad at his disposal.
When you couple the 20-point gulf between Napoli and Lazio with Napoli’s strong record in this fixture, all the signs point towards a home win on Friday.
Forebet predicts that Napoli will score over 1.5 goals on their way to dispatching Lazio, with the hosts extending their lead at the summit.
