Udinese – Napoli

Udinese are hosting Napoli in a game from the 13th round of the Italian Serie A. Both teams don’t have a win in their last two games in the league, so now they will try to get back on the winning track.

 Labeled as title contenders before the start of the new season, Napoli are now 9 points behind the champion and current leader Juventus. The Azzurri won just a single point in their last two matches, losing the big derby against Juve and being unable to beat Lazio at home ground as well. For Maurizio Sarri’s team it’s absolutely mandatory to start winning games as soon as possible, if they want to keep their hopes for finishing in the Top 3 of the Serie A alive.

 Udinese is not a team with Napoli’s high ambitions, but they are still a traditional club which always try to perform as good as possible. We should note that Udinese, led by the veteran manager Luigi Delneri, didn’t lose neither once in its last four matches. This allowed them to move away from the relegation zone in the Serie A and to start breathe more freely now.

 This game is surely more important for Napoli than it is for the home team. For the Azzurri it would be a huge failure if they don’t qualify for the Champions League. And this will certainly not happen, if Sarri’s boys continue to lose points so often. They need to find a solid consistency, if they want to fight with teams like Roma, Milan and Lazio for the Champions League places.

 Arkadiusz Milik is the player who will miss a lot of games for Napoli in the coming months. Maurizio Sarri’s other problems come from the condition of Raul Albiol, Manolo Gabbiadini, Faouzi Ghoulam and Marek Hamsik, who have light injuries and are doubtful for the game.

 The same could be said about Udinese’s Sven Kums, Emil Hallfredsson and Jakub Jantko, who are also under a question for the clash.