Winless Salernitana host defending Serie A champions Napoli in gameweek 11 at Stadio Arechi on Saturday.
The cellar-dwelling side were beaten 1-0 by Genoa in the previous round, while the Partenopei fought back from 2-0 down to draw with Milan in Naples.
Match preview
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Filippo Inzaghi's first away game in charge of Salernitana ended in defeat at Genoa, thus extending the Salerno outfit's winless league run to start the season.
Without a victory in 10 games, the Garnets welcome last season's champions to the Arechi keen to beat the Partenopei for the first time since regaining promotion.
Salernitana have played Napoli four times since returning to the big time in 2021 but have picked up one point from those fixtures, a 1-1 draw at the Maradona in April that delayed the Azzurri's eventual coronation.
Boulaye Dia levelled for the Granata in that fixture, and the Senegal international could play a role in whatever the home side achieve this weekend.
Inzaghi had some joy in midweek, with a 4-0 Coppa Italia thrashing of Andrea Pirlo's struggling Serie B outfit Sampdoria, a result the former Milan striker hopes begins the turnaround in Salerno.
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As for Rudi Garcia, the Napoli boss may be pleased his team are away from the Maradona this weekend, owing to their superior results on the road this season — 11 points from a possible 15 outdoes seven from five matches in Naples.
Last year's champions almost came unstuck for the third time in four games in front of their fans, but a second-half fightback saw them score twice to level against Milan.
The upshot of round 10's result leaves Napoli in fifth spot heading into round 11, seven shy of early-season front-runners Inter Milan and two behind Atalanta.
Having already seen his team fight back from 2-0 down on two occasions this term — a 2-2 draw at Genoa in mid-September and against the Rossoneri — Garcia's side must aim for a strong start at the Arechi this weekend.
A defeat could see the fifth-placed club slide outside the European places, with seventh-placed Lazio two points behind, but they could leapfrog Atalanta with a victory if the Bergamaschi are beaten by Inter.
Team News
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Salernitana have struggled for goals this term, with Dia scoring 50% of the team's six league strikes in 2023-24, posing problems for Inzaghi before Saturday's clash.
Norbert Gyomber is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Genoa, while Federico Fazio remains absent with a muscle issue.
Victor Osimhen is still ruled out with a muscle injury, meaning Garcia has to choose between Giacomo Raspadori or Giovanni Simeone at the Arechi.
Raspadori netted a brilliant free-kick to equalise against Milan on Sunday, and he could start up top, flanked by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Matteo Politano, who halved the deficit against the Rossoneri.
Andre Zambo Anguissa could start against Salernitana after returning from injury in the 2-2 draw with Milan, while Nathan misses out after his sending-off in round 10.
Salernitana possible starting lineup:
Ochoa; Lovato, Daniliuc, Pirola; Maggiore, Coulibaly, Bradaric, Mazzocchi; Candreva, Dia; Cabral
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Ostigard, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Raspadori, Kvaratskhelia
We say: Salernitana 1-3 Napoli
While Napoli's proclivity to concede means Salernitana could add to their meagre six goals on Saturday, the Partenopei should be too strong for the struggling side at the Arechi.
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