Salernitana vs Napoli prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-01-20 17:00.
Just two days after being sacked as Salernitana boss, an incredible U-turn saw Davide Nicola reinstated in his post ahead of a game with table-topping Napoli. It perhaps wouldn’t have been the game Nicola chose when searching for a winning resumption to his Salernitana career, but with this a Campania Derby, anything could happen as his side seek to end a six-match winless Serie A (SA) run (D2, L4).
Their previous outing, a 8-2 loss to Atalanta that was their heaviest top-flight losing margin in history, was then the final straw as far as the Salernitana board were concerned. After five of those eight Atalanta goals fell before half-time, Salernitana have conceded a league-high 19 first-half goals this season and cannot afford a repeat in pursuit of their first win against Napoli since 2002 (D3, L5).
Perhaps just catching his breath after chasing Massimiliano Allegri for a handshake after Napoli’s thumping 5-1 victory against Juventus, Napoli boss Luciano Spalletti will be keen to extend their nine point lead at the SA summit. Their momentum took a hit during the week when dumped out of the Coppa Italia on penalties by Cremonese, the only SA club left without a win in 2022/23.
Perhaps Spalletti was the master of his own downfall in the cup as he fielded a rotated squad with league football the priority. That perhaps explains why they squandered their lead against Cremonese, but in SA Napoli have been imperious when striking first, winning eleven of the 12 league games in which they have opened the scoring this season (D1).
Players to watch: Boulaye Dia was one of Salernitana’s two scorers against Atalanta, but that first-half goal went against a trend as his five prior arrived after half-time. Meanwhile, Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia shares good company as one of just three players alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar to have scored 7+ goals and assisted 7+ goals across the big five European leagues this season.
Hot stat: Napoli are the only SA team not to trail at half-time in a league game this season (HT: W9, D9).