Napoli and AS Roma will clash at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for this epic battle in the Serie A on match day 13 of the 2024-25 season.
As of the time of writing, Napoli have garnered 26 points from 12 games and they sit top of the Serie A log. AS Roma have 13 points from the same number of games and they stay 12th on the log.
Napoli failed to defend the Serie A title they won two seasons ago. Apart from that, they failed to make it to any of the European competitions. It was just the Serie A and Coppa Italia for them this season as they aim to get back to the top of Italian football. In came former Serie A champion Antonio Conte as the man to lead them after the short-term absence of Slovakia boss Francesco Calzona.
"Napoli is a place of global importance. I am happy and excited at the idea of ??sitting on the blue bench," said Conte, who guided Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in 11 years in 2021.
"I can certainly promise one thing, I will do my utmost for the growth of the team and the club. My commitment, together with that of my staff, it will be total."
The season got underway for Napoli with a penalty shoot-out win over Modena in the Coppa Italia. In their first Serie A game of the season, Napoli were soundly beaten 3-0 by Hellas Verona. However, the team bounced back with three consecutive wins. Conte’s men beat Bologna 3-0 at home, a 2-1 home win over Parma, and a 4-0 thrashing of Cagliari on the road.
The trip to Turin to face Juventus finished goalless. Back in the Coppa Italia, Napoli thumped Palermo 5-0 to advance once again. Scott McTominay scored once again with Cyril Ngonge scoring twice in the rout.
The next five games saw Napoli breeze past their opposition to go top of the log. The winning streak started with a 2-0 win over Monza - Matteo Politano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored in 11 first-half minutes. That result was followed up by a 3-1 win over Como. Former Manchester United man McTominay opened the scoring before Romelu Lukaku and David Neres scored after Gabriel Strefezza’s equalizer for the visitors. The next three games saw Napoli beat Empoli, Lecce, and AC Milan without conceding a goal to keep their fine start to the season going.
The month of November started with a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Europa League champions Atalanta at home before a 1-1 draw with Inter at San Siro just before the international break.
On the other hand, Roma have been poor all season. Daniele De Rossi was sacked as head coach of AS Roma in September 2024 after a poor start to the Serie A season. Their first four games of the season did not produce a win and that cost the club legend his job. Ivan Juric, the former manager of Torino, replaced De Rossi but things never got better.
Juric helped the side beat Udinese 3-0 in his first league game in charge. Artem Dovbyk, Paulo Dybala, and Tommaso Baldanzi scored in the easy win. In the Europa League, the capital club drew 1-1 with Bilbao before securing another win in the league by beating Venezia 2-1 at home. Roma lost to Elfsborg in their next continental game but bounced back with a win over Dynamo Kyiv and a draw against Union SG.
In the Serie A, Roma won just one of their next six games and that was not enough to keep Juric in the job. The club decided to sack Juric after the home 3-2 defeat to Bologna just before the international break and are now looking for their third manager of the season. Overall, it is a tough position for the club to find themselves.
In their past 38 meetings since 2005, Napoli have won 14 times, Roma have won 15 times, and 9 ended in a draw. However, Napoli have won five of their past 10 meetings in all competitions.
Match tickets
The epic match at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples will kick off at 17:00 GMT on Sunday, November 24th, 2024.
The 54,726-capacity stadium will host this league game between Gli Azzurri and the Giallorossi.
Getting tickets for the Napoli v AS Roma tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team news
Line-ups
Antonio Conte does not have any European competition to worry about, so he has been able to utilize his players to the fullest. The former Chelsea boss has continued to keep the bulk of the players that have started the season in his starting XI. The likes of Mathias Olivera, Amir Rahmani, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, and Frank Anguissa have started every Serie A game for Conte this season. Attacking Talismen Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Matteo Politano are also regulars in Napoli’s starting XI. Meanwhile, Napoli do have a squad free of injuries.
Napoli XI: Alex Meret; Mathias Olivera, Alessandro Buongiorno, Amir Rahmani, Giovanni Di Lorenzo; Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Frank Anguissa; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Romelu Lukaku, Matteo Politano.
Roma have been through ups and downs this season. Despite changing managers, they have been struggling with the right selections to produce the results they want. Regardless, the likes of Evan Ndicka, Bryan Cristante, and Manu Kone have been regulars in the starting XI this term.
AS Roma XI: Mile Svilar; Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka, Angelino; Stephan El Shaarawy, Manu Kone, Bryan Cristante, Zeki Celik; Matias Soule, Niccolo Pisilli; Artem Dovbyk.
Prediction
Napoli have been excellent in the Serie A this season. Being on top of the log comes with a responsibility and pressure to grind out results. Having been thumped 3-0 by Atalanta in the last home game, there is a need to return to winning ways here.
Napoli have the edge based on form and head-to-head. By the way, getting Napoli tickets could be a bit tricky as the year is coming to an end.
On the other hand, Roma are up against it as they sit just four points above the drop zone. Another defeat in Naples could put them into the relegation zone. Meanwhile, a new managerial bounce could be a thing at the end of this contest.
Napoli 1-0 Roma
