Napoli-Frosinone Match Preview

Napoli open their title defense at the 16,000-seat capacity Stadio Benito Stirpe, home of the newly promoted Frosinone Calcio.

Frosinone Calcio

In their first Serie A match in four seasons, Frosinone host the defending champions. Fabio Grosso led the Ciociari to a Serie B title, finishing the 2022/23 campaign seven points clear of their nearest competitor. However, the World Cup winner elected to not renew his contract and has been replaced by Eusebio Di Francesco. Di Francesco failed to last a full season at each of his last three coaching jobs. Meanwhile, Frosinone failed to achieve salvation after each of their last two promotions to Serie A. While Frosinone have acquired a number of new players, they are still amongst the favourites for relegation.

SSC Napoli

Napoli replaced their coach in the summer as well. The Partenopei hired Rudi Garcia to replace Luciano Spalletti, who agreed to take a one-year sabbatical as a condition of his early resignation. Spalletti has since (allegedly) violated that contract by accepting a job with the Italian national team without paying the €3 million penalty in his agreement.

Garcia’s team hasn’t changed much since last season. The most impactful departure was that of Kim Min-jae after Bayern Munich agreed to pay the South Korean’s release clause. Time will tell if his replacement, Brazilian central defender Natan, can fill Kim’s very large boots, as Kim filled the boots of club legend Kalidou Koulibaly.

Meanwhile, Jen-Lys Michel Cajuste was acquired to replace Tanguy Ndombele, who returned to Tottenham at the end of his loan spell. Cajuste is a versatile midfielder who can cover any of the midfield positions but has a profile most similar to Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. The Partenopei have also reportedly completed a move for Celta Vigo star Gabri Veiga, who is expected to be in Roma on Sunday to complete his medicals.

Perhaps the most impressive transfers for Napoli were the ones they didn’t make. Despite the temptation of numerous lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia, the league champions have retained Victor Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Piotr Zielinski. Meanwhile, Napoli’s closest rivals have been busy in the market, desperate to compete for the title. Time will tell if they’ve done enough to reduce the 16+ point gap at the end of last season.

Injuries/Suspensions

Frosinone will be missing two players due to injury. Central defender Sergio Kalaj is out with an unknown injury while midfielder Karlo Lulic continues to recover from a torn ACL.

For Napoli, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been kept out of the squad for precautionary reasons due to muscle fatigue. Diego Demme has been left out of the squad amidst rumours of a potential move to Hertha Berlin. Meanwhile, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa completed the full group training on Thursday and Friday after recovering from a muscular injury.