San Paolo is the scene of the match of the second round of the Italian Cup 17-18 between the set of Maurizio Sarri and Udinese. Napoli lost the lead in the Serie A standings after losing their first match in 15 games against Vecchia Signora (0-1 at San Paolo last Saturday). However, the tie against Fiorentina (0-0) and the victory against Torino (1-3) has returned the Neapolitans to the first position. The Partenopeos have 13 wins, 3 draws and one defeat with 38 goals scored and only 11 against.
Maurizio Sarri remains at the helm of the Neapolitan team, which with Milik’s absence due to injury, has been put back into the hands of the triplet formed by Callejón, Insigne and Dries Mertens. With 372.5 million of budget, the partenopeos have invested almost 49 million in the signings of Nikola Maksimovic, Serbian central coming from the Torino; from the Algerian extreme Adam Ounas, coming from Bordeaux; and the definitive pass of Croatian midfielder Marko Rog, from Dinamo Zagreb. In the chapter of departures, they have left San Paolo midfielder Eddy Gnahoré, who signed for Palermo in exchange for 1.5 million; the midfielder Raffaele Maiello, for which the Frosinone pays 1.2 million; apart from right-back Daniele Celiento and midfielder Jonathan de Guzmán, who leave for free.
In this Champions League, the team was eliminated and will play the Europa League, measuring RB Leipzig in the 1/16 final tie that will be played from mid-February.
Eleven Probable: Queen – Hysaj, Koulibaly, Ghoulam, Albiol – Jorginho, Hamsik, Alan – Mertens, Alley, Insigne.
The Udinese are looking to avoid the troubles of last season and find a stability on the bench that seems fundamental. The team of Friuli is 11th in the standings, adding 7 win and 9 losses in the 16 days he has played (pending a game postponed against Lazio). Luigi Delneri was replaced by Massimo Oddo, the new head of a bench that has been almost twenty coaches in the past 2 years. The instability caused by the current owners has meant that the club does not know where to go, so the main objective is to ensure permanence and pass the minimum possible difficulties.
The friulani set debuted in their brand new stadium with a defeat against Chievo Verona (1-2). Subsequently, the team fell on their visit to the newly promoted Spal (3-2), just before the international break. The following weekend, the Bianconeri broke the losing streak, winning 1-0 against Genoa and only against the other Genovese side, Sampdoria, was able to win for the second time (4-0). After that win, the team lost in Florence (2-1) and was thrashed by Juventus (2-6), reacting with two consecutive victories against Sassuolo (0-1) and Atalanta (2-1). Two defeats at home against Cagliari and Napoli, both by 1-0, gave way to three wins from the last three days, at Crotone (0-3), against Benevento (2-0) and at San Siro, against Inter this past weekend (1-3).
Eleven Probable: Scuffet – Larsen, Danilo, Nuytinck, Samir – De Paul, Behrami, Barak, Jankto – Maxi Lopez, Lasagna.
In the last 32 duels, Napoli has a slight advantage, with 12 wins, 11 draws and 9 Udinese wins. After losing 3-1 at Friuli in April 2016, Napoli have won the last three matches, including the last one played at San Paolo (3-0) in April of this year. The prognosis is that the leader of the Serie A, even being a favorite, will not defeat his rival by more than one goal.
Prediction Today:
Asian Handicap: Udinese +2 1.83
