Napoli will aim to strengthen their position as Serie A league leaders when they face Empoli at the Stadio Carlo Castellani this noon.
Napoli head into this match on the back of a thrilling 3-1 victory over newly promoted Como in their previous outing. Scott McTominay opened the scoring just a minute after kickoff. While Gabriel Strefezza equalised the scores before half-time, the Partenopei responded with strikes from Romelu Lukaku and David Neres later to grab the three points from the clash. Manager Antonio Conte seems to have transformed Napoli and has changed the narrative from last season’s frustrations. The Neapolitans are set to miss Stanislav Lobotka as he sustained an injury during the international break. Leonardo Spinazzola is expected to feature with Mathias Olivera out of action.
Meanwhile, Empoli boast a strong home record against Napoli as the visitors today have managed to take the maximum points from the Carlo Castellani only twice in 11 Serie A trips. The Azzurri have started well, according to their standards this season, as they picked up points against teams like Juventus, Fiorentina, and Roma. Empoli went down to Lazio in their last match but they would take the positives from the contest as they put up a spirited fight till the last minute of the match.
Empoli (3-4-2-1): Vasquez; Goglichidze, Ismajli, Marianucci; Gyasi, Anjorin, Grassi, Pezzella; Fazzini, Esposito; Colombo.
Napoli (4-2-3-1): Caprile; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Spinazzola; Anguissa, Gilmour; Politano, McTominay, Kvaratskhelia; Lukaku.
Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN
