Fiorentina vs Napoli
Italian Serie A.
Date: Thursday, 22 December 2016
Kick-Off: 19:45 UK,
Venue: Stadio Artemio Franchi (Florence).
Fiorentina
Fiorentina were beaten 3-1 at Lazio at the weekend, a loss which leaves them in 8th place and 8 points off 4th placed Lazio. They host another top 4 side in Napoli on Thursday before the Winter Break and they really can't afford to lose if they seek a European place come May.
Paulo Sousa's side have lost back to back games following a run of 3 straight wins. La Viola have scored in 5/6 games netting 2 or more in 4/6 but not in the last 2, despite scoring 2 or more 4 times, they still lost 1 of those games. 0/6 clean sheets is a problem but they have conceded 2 or more in just 2/6.
At Stadio Artemio Franchi Fiorentina have won their last 2 games with 1 loss in 6 games (3-2-1). They have netted in 6/6, scoring 2 or more in 4/6 including the last 3 games. At the back, 1/6 clean sheets and none in the last 4 isn't great but again they have conceded 2 or more in just 1/6.
Napoli
Napoli won a high scoring game against Torino 5-3 at the weekend with a Mertens hattrick along the way. They remain in 3rd but close the gap to Roma, down to just a single point but it's a big 8 points behind leaders Juventus.
Maurizio Sarri have won 4 in a row and remain unbeaten since October. Napoli have scored in 5/6 games netting 2 or more in their last 4 scoring 15 goals at an average of 3.75 goals per game. At the back, 3/6 clean sheets is decent with their opponent scoring 2 or more in just 1/6.
Away from home it's 3 wins on the bounce and 4/6. Napoli have scored 6/6, 2 goals or more in 4/6 including the last 3 games. Defensively, 1/6 clean sheets came in their last away game but only Juventus have scored 2 or more against them during this run.
Fiorentina vs Napoli: Head-to-head statistics
Fiorentina have a record of W6-D8-L6 in their last 20 home games against teams ranked above them in the table.
The Viola are undefeated in their last 9 home matches.
However, the Gigliati have won just one out of their last 12 meetings with Napoli (D5, L6).
In addition, they have never been able to score more than one goal per game during that period.
Napoli are undefeated in their last 8 away matches against Fiorentina in all competitions.
The Partenopei have a record of W11-D4-L5 in their last 20 away games against teams ranked below them in the table.
Napoli have scored at least three goals in their past three matches.
Fiorentina vs Napoli: Prediction
Napoli conceded three against Torino despite taking an early lead, so they clearly have not resolved all their defensive issues just yet. Meanwhile, Fiorentina are in bad shape and will need to overcome a very bad record against Napoli to get anything out of this fixture. However, the odds appear to be firmly in the visitors’ favor, who after some hiccups appear to be getting back on track.
Given that they have netted at least three goals in their past three games – including ten in just two – this looks like it could be an equally high-scoring encounter.
Fiorentina vs Napoli: Betting tips
Both Teams to Score and Napoli to win at 13/5 (3.60)
Over 2.5 goals at 7/10 (1.70).
