Napoli continue to inch towards their third Scudetto in club history, while Torino look to win their third consecutive match for the first time this season.
Torino FC
Ivan Juric’s team is performing exactly how you would expect an Ivan Juric team to perform. Torino are currently 9th in the table on 37 points, with 29 goals scored and 29 goals conceded. The Granata have earned consecutive clean sheets in victories over Lecce and Bologna, but it’s only the second time this season that they’ve strung together consecutive league wins.
History is not on Torino’s side. The home side have only one win and four draws against Napoli over the last ten-and-a-half seasons. It cerrtainly doesn’t help that the travel ban on residents of Campania has now expired. Thousands of Napoli tifosi are expected to be at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino, not only in the away sector, but also in the Distinti, Tribuna and Curva Primavera.
SSC Napoli
Napoli enter the 27th round of the Serie A campaign with an 18-point lead over their nearest rival Inter. With Inter hosting Juventus in the Derby D’Italia, that lead could well be expanded to 20 or 21 points. Napoli would need to win only five of their remaining 11 matches to guarantee their first Scudetto in 33 years. In fact, even four wins and two draws would suffice.
That puts the Partenopei in a strong position to compete for both domestic and European glory. Yet, Luciano Spalletti has been reluctant to rotate his squad. With the upcoming international break, the Napoli coach is not likely to rotate much on Sunday. That means that, in all likelihood, Victor Osimhen will be in the starting XI. Evan after scoring twice against Eintracht Frankfurt, Napoli’s star striker is eager to get over the 20-goal plateau in Serie A, having not scored in his last two league matches.
Injuries/Suspensions
Ivan Juricmust manage a number of injuries in his squad, some long-term and others short-term. At the back, central defender David Zima is out with a meniscus injury, while right back Valentino Lazaro continues to recover from a sideband tear in his knee. Koffi Djidji is questionable with what Ivan Juric described as a “little problem.”
In the midfield, Ronaldo Vieira has missed the last three matches with a bruised knee, while Nicola Vlasic missed the last four with a hamstring injury. Up top, Aleksey Miranchuk has been ruled out with a thigh injury, while Yann Karamoh will miss the match due to a calf problem.
For Napoli, Giacomo Raspadori continues to recover from a thigh injury that caused him to miss Napoli’s last six matches in all competitions. Diego Demme did not complete the group training session on Friday or Saturday due to muscle Fatigue. Meanwhile, Davide Marfella has been ruled out due to tendinopathy.
Two of Napoli’s star players are at risk of suspension due to yellow card accumulation. With Milan visiting the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after the international break, Luciano Spalletti may consider rotating one or both of Victor Osimhen and Kim Min-jae. Kim was removed in the 65th minute against Eintracht Frankfurt after suffering a calf injury against Atalanta.
Probable Formations
Manager’s Comments
Ivan Juric:
“I’ve never seen a team like Napoli in Italy. They have two star players (Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, etc) and other excellent players. But not like other teams in the past who really had star players at every position. This is what impresses me about them. They’re truly a team I haven’t seen very much, even in Europe.”
Luciano Spalletti:
“I’m happy to talk about the Bull, out of the respect I owe and acknowledge to Juric’s team. It will be a very difficult match because they, unlike Eintracht, won’t change their attitude. Torino always do the same thing and they’re a complicated opponent. They are asphyxiating both in possession and in non-possession. They maintain a very high work rate in the match, they are trained to do this. It becomes a constant del on physicality because they press you continuously and make you feel their breathing down your neck. For them it’s fun to not let you play cleanly, so it will be a difficult game.”
Previous Meetings
| October 1, 2022 | SSC Napoli | 3-1 | Torino FC |
| May 7, 2022 | Torino FC | 0-1 | SSC Napoli |
| October 17, 2021 | SSC Napoli | 1-0 | Torino FC |
| April 26, 2021 | Torino FC | 0-2 | SSC Napoli |
| December 23, 2020 | SSC Napoli | 1-1 | Torino FC |
Match Officials
Head Official: Matteo Marchetti
Assistants: Marco Bresmes and Alessandro Lo Cicero
Fourth Official: Michael Fabbri
VAR: Massimiliano Irrati and Antonio Di Martino
