Still hunting a second Scudetto in the space of three seasons, Serie A's second-placed side Napoli visit rock-bottom Monza on Saturday.
While their hosts are surely bound for the drop, Antonio Conte's men kept title dreams alive with Monday's win over Empoli, leaving them just three points adrift of Inter Milan.
Match preview
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Aiming to claim a third straight win at Stadio Maradona, Napoli welcomed free-falling Empoli to Campania earlier this week, as they sought to cut their deficit to table-toppers Inter with victory on home turf.
Once again, midfield powerhouse Scott McTominay was the difference maker, scoring either side of a Romelu Lukaku strike to wrap up three precious points: this season, five of the Scottish star's goals have arrived with the score locked at 0-0, and no other midfielder has scored more openers throughout Serie A.
That result came after a run of just two wins from nine, as the Partenopei let top spot slip from their grasp: since February, they have drawn six times, dropping half-a-dozen points compared to Inter.
Nonetheless, Napoli remain the Nerazzurri's sole title rivals and can pull level with another success on Saturday evening - their Milanese counterparts play one day later, away to top-four contenders Bologna.
While Inter face a packed run-in, as they compete on three separate fronts, Conte's side can fully focus on each of their six remaining Serie A fixtures, starting with a trip north to meet the league's last-placed team.
Napoli not only won 4-2 in Monza this time last year, but they also prevailed in September's reverse fixture - a 2-0 victory at the Maradona - so they will expect to post three wins on the spin this weekend.
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Since finally reaching the promised land back in 2022, Monza have actually scored twice in both of their home games against Napoli, but goals - like points - have been much harder to come by this season.
So far, the Brianzoli have lost 21 games and won only two, leaving them 11 points adrift of safety and with almost no chance of avoiding relegation.
Following his mid-season firing, Alessandro Nesta's mid-February return has resulted in six defeats from eight, and surely the final blow to any slim hopes of survival was delivered last week.
Beaten 1-0 by 19th-placed Venezia in a must-win clash for both clubs, Monza came up short once again, and their last success still dates all the way back to January.
Before facing the might of Napoli, the Serie B-bound side must try to address a glaring weakness in both boxes, having scored the fewest headed goals this season (two) and conceded the most (17); by contrast, their next visitors have yet to ship a single headed goal in Serie A.
Team News
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Napoli can welcome back Frank Anguissa and captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo, after both served suspensions against Empoli, but Antonio Conte will be without several players due to injury.
Brazilian duo David Neres and Juan Jesus have both been ruled out, while Alessandro Buongiorno is still struggling to recover from the adductor issue that kept him sidelined on Monday.
That may mean a reshuffle at the back, but the visitors are sure to select some familiar faces in midfield: featuring alongside Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka, Scott McTominay has scored eight Serie A goals so far, surpassing his previous best in a single league season.
While Napoli's attack will be led by Romelu Lukaku - flanked by Matteo Politano, who scored in September's reverse fixture - Monza have recently relied on Keita Balde and Dany Mota.
Mota may have already matched his personal record for Serie A goal involvements (seven), but the Portuguese forward has only played a part in one strike this calendar year.
As Balde is set to miss out through injury - alongside Danilo D'Ambrosio, captain Matteo Pessina and Napoli youth graduate Armando Izzo - either Gianluca Caprari or Silvere Ganvoula should start up front.
Meanwhile, Georgios Kyriakopoulos is back from a one-match ban and can reclaim his place on the hosts' left flank.
Monza possible starting lineup:
Turati; Pereira, Caldirola, Carboni; Birindelli, Castrovilli, Bianco, Akpa Akpro, Kyriakopoulos; Mota, Caprari
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka; Politano, McTominay, Spinazzola; Lukaku
We say: Monza 0-3 Napoli
Napoli should win without much fuss, pulling level on points with Inter as they beat one of Serie A's strugglers for the second time in five days.
Lacking confidence and missing key men, Monza are ill-equipped to stop the Partenopei's rejuvenated attack.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
