Fighting it out at opposite ends of the Serie A standings, Napoli host relegation-threatened Parma on Sunday with both sides looking to bounce back from the disappointment of defeat last weekend.
The two clubs now convene at Stadio Diego Maradona after the home side kept their Coppa Italia defence alive in midweek, while the Crociati arrive in search of a first win since November.
Match preview
Seeing their league form waning somewhat since the turn of the year, Napoli currently sit sixth in the tightly-packed top half of the table and are now a forbidding nine points off top spot - albeit with a game in hand on most sides around them.
Despite having the third-best defensive record in the top flight, the Neapolitans conceded three times versus Verona last weekend, relinquishing a first-minute lead given to them - after a club record nine seconds - by the lively intervention of flying forward Hirving Lozano.
A deserved Hellas win left Gennaro Gattuso's men deflated ahead of their potential banana skin of a cup clash with Spezia on Thursday evening, but the Partenopei cruised into a four-goal lead by half time before carelessly allowing their Ligurian visitors a couple of consolation goals in the second period.
That triumph set up a mouthwatering match-up with Atalanta in the semis - the first leg of which will play out at the Maradona next week - and lifted spirits in the Napoli camp. However, Gattuso will demand his side start to tighten up at the back.
In fact, a shock 2-1 Spezia success in Naples earlier this month marked the start of a run of seven games in which Napoli have conceded a total of 12 goals - not a flood by any means, but well out of keeping with their previously league-leading defensive stats.
They have few issues up front, however. Despite the absence - for various reasons - of Arkadiusz Milik, Dries Mertens and Victor Osimhen throughout much of the first half of their campaign, Gattuso's remaining forward line have fired in the most shots in Serie A this season of any team - nearing double that of this week's shot-shy opponents Parma.
Still growing in confidence and stature, following his super-fast strike in Verona, Mexican winger Lozano has registered nine league goals and is now looking to reach double figures for a third time in four seasons since moving to Europe in 2017. The former PSV man may well have found the ideal opposition to help him achieve that feat on Sunday.
Following another defeat in their last outing, Parma's current predicament is deeply concerning, as the Emilian outfit have sunk to second-from-bottom in the league - with just 13 points won so far.
Once previous coach Fabio Liverani paid the price for poor results, former boss Roberto D'Aversa was drafted in, but his arrival has failed to engender an upturn in results. Managing to glean only one point in his first three games back in the dugout, his team have so far failed to reverse the negative trend.
Without a single striker in form all season - as Andreas Cornelius and Roberto Inglese have both fared badly - the Gialloblu have scored the fewest goals in Serie A so far and have now failed to score at all in their last seven Serie A home games after their latest reverse - 2-0 at the hands of Sampdoria.
Their ineptitude has in fact grown near to record-breaking proportions, as remaining winless in their last 10 league fixtures equals the club's worst-ever streak in the top flight.
Perhaps the only dim light at the end of the tunnel can be found in the fact that D'Aversa has led Parma to two wins over Napoli since Gennaro Gattuso took charge at the end of 2019, and that they have finally managed to bolster a misfiring forward line by signing highly-rated Dennis Man from the club formerly known as Steaua Bucharest.
Having scored 17 goals and contributed seven assists in his 19 games for FCSB this term before moving to the Tardini, though he may not start straight away, he could be just the man they need.
Napoli Serie A form: DWLWWL
Napoli form (all competitions): WWWLLW
Parma Serie A form: LLLLDL
Parma form (all competitions): LLLDLL
Team News
The only potential absentees from Gennaro Gattuso's first-choice Napoli XI are Fabian Ruiz (COVID-19) and Dries Mertens, who is doubtful after suffering an ankle injury versus Verona.
Full-back Giovanni Di Lorenzo and midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko are expected to return for Elseid Hysaj and Eljif Elmas respectively, after being benched in midweek, while Alex Meret could come in for David Ospina on the ever-rotating goalkeeper front.
After protracted spells of injury and illness, Victor Osimhen is now ready to lead the line from the start and should get the nod over Andrea Petagna at centre-forward in the Azzurri attack.
Parma's numerous availability issues have begun to ease - to the relief of coach Roberto D'Aversa - with Wylan Cyprien now recovered from illness and defenders Botond Balogh and Yordan Osorio also fit to rejoin training. Furthermore, Vincent Laurini and veteran centre-half Bruno Alves - who has had a thigh injury - are both nearing a return to contention.
However, French forward Yann Karamoh is out with an adductor issue, so Gervinho and Juraj Kucka should start in support of Andreas Cornelius up front.
Loan signing Andrea Conti could start at full-back, with fellow new boy Dennis Man set to join the squad in the coming days.
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Rui; Bakayoko, Demme; Lozano, Zielinski, Insigne; Osimhen
Parma possible starting lineup:
Sepe; Conti, Iacoponi, Gagliolo, Pezzella; Kurtic, Grassi, Hernani; Kucka, Cornelius, Gervinho
We say: Napoli 3-1 Parma
For a club looking to avoid a record 11th Serie A game without a win, Parma would hardly have chosen Naples as their destination this Sunday.
The undoubted potency of the Napoli attack should prove too strong for the desolate visitors, with big-money buy Victor Osimhen overdue in getting his Calcio career up and running - and Hirving Lozano now showing him exactly how to do so.
