Lazio visit the Stadio Diego Armanda Maradona in search of their first victory, while Napoli look to make it three from three under new coach Rudi Garcia.
SSC Napoli
Napoli have two wins in two matches under new coach Rudi Garcia. The Partenopei opened the season with a 1-3 victory over newly-promoted Frosinone, keeping their cool after conceding an early penalty kick. In round 2, the Azzurri coasted to a 2-0 victory over Sassuolo after Maxime Lopez was sent off early in the second half.
Napoli improved their squad in the final days of the summer mercato, purchasing Jesper Lindstrøm from Eintracht Frankfurt before selling Hirving Lozano to PSV.
SS Lazio
On paper, Lazio significantly improved their squad over the summer. The Biancocelesti finally signed a back striker in Taty Castellanos. The former NYC FC player scored 14 goals while on loan at Girona last season.
Though they sold arguably their best player Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Al Hilal, Lazio made a number of acquisitions to reinforce the midfield, including Daichi Kamada from Eintracht Frankfurt, Mattéo Guendouzi from Marseille and Nicolò Rovella (on loan) from Juventus. The Roman club also signed right winger Gustav Isaksen from FC Midtjylland and Luigi Sepe, who replaces Luis Maximiano after only one season with the club.
Nevertheless, Lazio have struggled out of the gate. Maurizio Sarri’s team opened the season with a loss to Lecce, conceding two goals late in the match to blow a 1-0 lead. In Round 2, Matteo Retegui scored his first ever Serie A goal as newly-promoted Genoa shut out Lazio 0-1. After two losses, the Biancocelesti will be hungry for their first points as they visit the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, knowing Juventus is next on the calendar. The visitors will be encouraged by their 0-1 victory over Napoli last season – their first win in Naples in nearly eight years.
Injuries/Suspensions
Pierluigi Gollini was left out of the squad due to a blunt trauma to the right hand. Meanwhile, Diego Demme is still not in the squad amidst speculation of a move to Turkey, whose market has not yet closed. Alessio Zerbin and Gianluca Gaetano are back in the matchday squad after potential transfer moves did not transpire.
For Lazio, Spanish winger Pedro could be left out of the squad due to an ankle injury.
Probable Formations
Manager’s Comments
Rudi Garcia:
“Now there is a match for us to win tomorrow because six points out of six is good, but nine out of nine is better. So it’s our goal to get three wins in a row because when you have a three point championship, which has been that way for a while now, in normal football let’s say, winning three times in a row gives you a good place in the standings and above all it allows you to take points from your direct opponents, let’s say, and Lazio is one of those.”
Maurizio Sarri:
No pre-match press conference
Previous Meetings
| March 3, 2023 | SSC Napoli | 0-1 | SS Lazio |
| September 3, 2022 | SS Lazio | 1-2 | SSC Napoli |
| February 27, 2022 | SS Lazio | 1-2 | SSC Napoli |
| November 28, 2021 | SSC Napoli | 4-0 | SS Lazio |
| April 22, 2021 | SSC Napoli | 5-2 | SS Lazio |
Match Officials
Head Official: Andrea Colombo
Assistants: Gamal Mokhtar and Domenico Palermo
Fourth Official: Maurizio Mariani
VAR: Aleandro Di Paolo and Federico Longo
