Napoli vs Hellas Verona

Fresh from lifting the season’s first silverware with Supercoppa Italiana success, Napoli have carried that momentum back into domestic action. Having closed 2025 with a controlled 2-0 win over Cremonese, they started the new year in similar fashion by beating Lazio 2-0 at the Olimpico, a match that ended in a late brawl with Pasquale Mazzocchi dismissed.

Those results have kept Antonio Conte’s side firmly in the title conversation, sitting third on 37 points (12W, 1D, 4L). Defensively, Napoli have conceded just 13 goals, the joint-second-best in the division, and they remain unbeaten at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this season (6W, 1D, 0L), making them hard to break down on home soil.

History also favours Napoli in this fixture, as Gli Azzurri have dominated Verona in Naples, winning seven and drawing three of their last ten Serie A home meetings. That run stands at 7W, 3D, 0L.

Conte faces notable selection issues, with Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Billy Gilmour and Alex Meret all sidelined, while Mazzocchi is suspended. Napoli are expected to line up in a 3-4-3 formation with Rasmus Højlund, David Neres and Eljif Elmas forming a trident attack.

Verona arrive in Naples under mounting pressure as relegation fears deepen. After a slow start to the campaign, Paolo Zanetti’s side briefly found momentum with back-to-back wins in early December. That progress has since unravelled following heavy 3-0 defeats away to AC Milan and at home to Torino.

Those losses have left the Gialloblù 18th in the standings with just 12 points [12W, 6D, 9L]. Problems at both ends of the pitch continue to undermine their survival bid. Verona have scored only 13 goals – the joint-second lowest tally in the league – while conceding 28, the joint-second worst defensive record.

Their away form offers little encouragement too, with just one win from nine road trips this season [1W, 3D, 5L]. Nonetheless, Verona may take confidence from their shock 3-0 victory over Napoli in August 2024 and will hope to exploit any complacency from the hosts.

Rafik Belghali is away at the Africa Cup of Nations, while Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro remains unavailable through injury. A 3—5—2 formation may be deployed with Giovane and Gift Orban starting upfront.