Napoli take on the visitors Pisa in the round 4 match of Italian Serie A. The match will be played on Monday, September 22nd at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (Naples).
Napoli, after a long pause, captured their first Scudetto since the Maradona era back in 2023. But then Luciano Spalletti, who had realistically assessed the situation, left his post in advance, and the club suddenly dropped off. Left without European football, the team was taken over by Antonio Conte a year ago. He exceeded all expectations, not only improving their form but actually finishing last season top of Serie A. Interestingly, Antonio had announced his departure right after the triumph, but eventually came to terms again with De Laurentiis and was rewarded with Kevin De Bruyne in the summer. They did, however, need to find a replacement for Romelu Lukaku, who was injured before the start of the league campaign. In the end they secured Rasmus Højlund on loan, but even before his arrival they had already collected wins, 2-0 against Sassuolo and 1-0 over Cagliari. In September, they extended this run with a 2-1 win against Fiorentina, though they finally conceded. In the Champions League, however, against Manchester City they were reduced to ten men midway through the first half, and eventually lost 0-2. Napoli look far more stable under Conte than in previous years, with their defensive shape much improved. Even though the City defeat showed limitations, in domestic competition they continue to display the confidence of true champions.
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Pisa have finally made it back to this level. The Nerazzurri have played before in Serie A — though only for seven seasons, mostly in the 1980s, and their last relegation came back in 1991. After long and difficult years, they finally managed to climb again. Their peak was last year, finishing second in Serie B. That success was delivered by Filippo Inzaghi, but given his history of struggles in Serie A, he decided not to risk testing himself again at this level. Pippo was replaced by another well-known former striker. Alberto’s debut saw Pisa scrape past Cesena only via penalties after a goalless draw. In Serie A his side opened with a prestigious 1-1 draw away to Atalanta in Bergamo. But then they lost at home to Roma. Against weaker opposition in September, Udinese, they conceded once and could not respond, falling to another defeat. While Pisa showed resilience against Atalanta, their lack of attacking firepower has been evident in the following matches. Their struggles in front of goal underline the challenge they face against the reigning champions.
In five matches between them, Napoli have claimed three victories with two draws. But since 2007 the clubs have not met on the pitch. There is no real intrigue here — the only question is how convincingly the champions and leaders will dispatch the newcomers. The pick is Napoli with a -1.5 goal handicap.
Prediction for the match: Napoli to win with -1.5 handicap.
