Napoli vs Verona prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-04-14 16:00.
Runaway league leaders Napoli maintained their 16-point cushion over second-placed Lazio with their 2-1 victory against Lecce in their last Serie A (SA) match, but it was followed up by a disappointing 1-0 defeat in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Milan on Wednesday, which only highlighted the absence of striker Victor Osimhen.
Napoli are returning home with a clear goal in their minds – to make up for their last performance on their own turf, a crushing 4-0 SA defeat against Milan, which was unusually their second league defeat in three matches here (W1). That match also saw a protest by Napoli’s fans, but coach Luciano Spalletti hopes it doesn’t happen again as his side heads towards a first title after 33 years, with Spalletti saying he ’will go home’ should the atmosphere be the same for this game.
Hellas Verona celebrated the 120th anniversary of the club’s foundation in style, ending a six-match winless run (D2, L4) with a 2-1 turnaround victory against Sassuolo. That was a crucial result for the Gialloblu, keeping them within four points of safety ahead of this round and still in with a fighting chance of avoiding relegation.
One of the toughest away trips in Europe lies ahead of them though, and Verona remain the only SA side yet to win an away league match this term (D5, L9). The club’s birthday celebrations could therefore be brought to a screeching halt here, especially as Marco Zaffaroni’s men have scored a league-low seven goals on the road, while they were beaten 5-2 in this season’s reverse fixture.
Players to watch: Partenopei captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo opened the scoring for Napoli in the 18th minute in their last SA match and curiously netted in the same minute in last season’s H2H here. Verona’s Adolfo Gaich appears to prefer the latter stages to find the net, as he scored his first Verona goal in the 95th minute to secure victory over Sassuolo last time out.
Hot stat: Napoli have failed to win just one league match after scoring first this season (W20, D1).