Napoli vs Monza prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2024-09-28 18:45.
[p]From apologising to the fans and slamming his players for “melting like snow” in a 3-0 loss to Verona on matchday one, Antonio Conte has turned things around for Napoli, guiding them to ten points from the following four matches. The 2022/23 Scudetto winners were just one point adrift of leaders Torino after five rounds and a goalless draw against Juventus last weekend even earned Conte’s praise for the team’s defending. They will quickly need to find their scoring boots though, as next up are Monza, a side that kept Napoli goalless in two of the last three H2Hs.[/p]
[p]The Neapolitans have won both of their home league games this season, aggregating five goals, but will hope there’s no drama like last time here, when the hosts needed two stoppage-time goals to come from behind and win 2-1 against Parma![/p]
[p]Monza were one of the two teams to complete the fifth round without a win (D3, L2) and barely avoided sitting in last heading into this matchday. The only saving grace for the White and Reds is that they have played three straight games against teams which finished in the top-eight last season, and they came out with two creditable draws against Inter and Fiorentina.[/p]
[p]Those matches could have counted for more, as Monza took the lead on both occasions, only to drop points to late equalisers coming beyond the 85th minute. Holding on to leads and building on the positives is crucial to earning their first win of the league season, but it will need the visitors to put a halt to a seven-game away top-flight winless streak (D4, L3).[/p]
[p]Key battle: Giovanni Di Lorenzo has two league goals to his name this season, both coming in wins to nil. He may look to control the defensive side of his game here though, having been carded in two of his four personal H2Hs. Looking to go past him could be Milan Đurić, who has scored two goals across his last three league games, both serving as Monza’s opener. That was also the case when these sides last met, when he scored the match opener within the first ten minutes, albeit in a 4-2 loss.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Four of Napoli’s last five league matches saw more goals scored in the second half than the first.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Sridhar B[/i][/p]