​Fresh from their disappointing 2-0 Europa League loss at Arsenal on Thursday, Napoli return to Serie A action with a trip to Chievo on Sunday.

Having failed to win their previous two league games, I Partenopei will be eager to pick up a much needed victory to further secure their grip on second place.

Lorenzo Insigne

Chievo are rock bottom in Italy’s top flight, having won just one of 31 games so far this season, and their relegation to Serie B could be confirmed before the game kicks off.


Where to Watch

​When Is Kick Off? Sunday 15 April​
What Time Is Kick Off?​ 12:00Am
​Where Is it Played? ​Marcantonio Bentegodi
​Referee? ​Federico La Penna

Team News

Chievo centre back Mattia Bani is suspended and will likely be replaced by Bostjan Cesar, while Ezequiel Schelotto, on loan from Brighton, is injured.

Ezequiel Schelotto

Raul Albiol is a long term absentee for the visitors, while Amadou Diawara will also miss out. Carlo Ancelotti may decide against making wholesale changes from Thursday’s loss, but ​Dries Mertens may drop to the bench with Lorenzo Insigne and Arkadiusz Milik preferred in attack.


Predicted Lineups

​Chievo Sorrentino; Depaoli, Andreolli, Cesar, Barba; Leris, Hetemaj, Diousse, Giaccherini; Stepinski, Pellissier.​
​Napoli Meret; Malcuit, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Callejon, Allan, Ruiz, Zielinski, Milik, Insigne.​

Head to Head Record

Out of the 25 matches between the two sides, Napoli lead the way with 15 wins to Chievo’s six, with the remaining four fixtures ending in draws.

The game earlier in the season ended in a goalless draw, but Napoli haven’t lost to Chievo since 2014, when Maxi Lopez scored the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at San Paolo.

Maxi Lopez

Recent Form

Chievo haven’t won a game of football since December, when they secured a slender 1-0 triumph over Frosinone. Since then, they have lost nine out of 12 games.

Napoli’s recent record isn’t great, but it’s still a fair bit better than their opponents on Sunday. After a 4-2 success over Udinese and an impressive 4-1 win at Roma, Ancelotti’s side have drawn with Genoa either side of losses to Empoli and Arsenal.

Here’s how each side has fared in their last five games.

Chievo Napoli
Bologna 3-0 Chievo (8/4) ​​Arsenal 2-0 ​Napoli (11/4)
​Sassuolo 4-0 Chievo (4/4) ​Napoli 1-1 Genoa (7/4)
Chievo 0-3 Cagliari (29/3) ​Empoli 2-1 Napoli (3/4)
​Atalanta 1-1 Chievo (17/3) ​Roma 1-4 Napoli (31/3)
​Chievo 1-2 ​Milan (9/3) ​Napoli 4-2 Udinese (17/3)

Prediction

This could be seen as the perfect game for Napoli to find some form ahead of a massive second leg in the Europa League against Arsenal.

Carlo Ancelotti

Chievo have been dreadful this season and it’s hard to see them troubling Napoli’s defence, but the visitors may not be as fluid in attack due to their sticky form in recent weeks.

Expect Napoli to claim a much needed win, but a game filled with goals seems unlikely.

Prediction: Chievo 0-2 Napoli