Tuesday 23rd January 2016 Kickoff: 1945hrs Napoli v Fiorentina Football – Italy – Coppa Italia The top Italian teams take a break from league action this week to continue their quest for Coppa Italia glory. The competition has now reached the quarter final stage and with seven of the current top eight in Serie A qualified for this phase it is packed full of quality. The first of the ties takes place in Naples with the hosts welcoming a resurgent Fiorentina side in what has the potential to be a thoroughly entertaining game.
Napoli extended their unbeaten record across all competitions to 14 with a deserved 2-1 win away to Milan at the weekend. It was a typical performance from Maurizio Sarri’s team as they burst out the traps and scored two goals in the first 20 minutes which proved to be decisive. The front three of Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon continue to impress and the mutual understanding between them is obvious to see. They occupy third spot in behind Juventus and Roma with a realistic hope of toppling the formers domination of the Italian league. Napoli are four points behind the leaders but have played a game more and if they are to continue their challenge then their current run will have to extend to the end of the season virtually. League business can wait, however, as they switch their attention to cup action this midweek. Their European commitments mean they only entered the cup in the last round and a routine 3-1 win against lower league Spezia has told us virtually nothing but they are guaranteed to be tested against their opponents in the quarter finals on Tuesday. Nevertheless, Napoli could hardly be in better form coming into the game.
2017 has been excellent for the team from Florence thus far as the Fiorenze have opened the year with three straight wins. Now that may not seem much on the face of it but considering they managed that only once in the whole of the previous year it is most welcome for Paulo Sousa. Their trio of victories is more impressive when you factor in their defeat of champions and current league leaders Juventus, becoming only the fourth team to manage it this season. Their other two wins came against the same opponent in the shape of Chievo – once in the league and once in this competition. Fiorentina’s win at the weekend away to that opponent was certainly the more convincing of the two as they ran out 3-0 winners whilst the 1-0 win at home to Chievo in the last round of the Coppa Italia was much more workmanlike. The standard of opponent will obviously increase the deeper they go into the competition and that is certainly the case as they make the trip to Naples. That said, like their opponents they will be confident on the back of their recent run and will feel they have a chance of progressing to the last four.
Napoli v Fiorentina Betting Tip
As these games are no longer two legs then the importance of the draw is even more important as it obviously gives the home team an advantage. Napoli have been lucky enough to be afforded that advantage and will be determined to make full use of it against a dangerous, if not inconsistent, Fiorentina side. The two played out one of the games of the season just before Christmas in their league meeting in Florence as they shared the spoils after a terrific 3-3 draw. A repeat of that would be plenty welcome on Tuesday.
Few teams leave the San Paulo with anything and that’s illustrated by the fact that Napoli lost just three times at home in 2016. They are currently on a run of five straight home wins and have scored an incredible 18 goals in that run. Fiorentina’s away form has been pretty decent, too, with the win at Chievo their fifth win in their last eight on the road in the league and they’ve also shown plenty of attacking intent scoring 18, so there should be no shortage of entertainment in Naples.
Napoli are favoured by the bookmakers unsurprisingly, being at home, but they will have to be on their guard if they are to make it through. Both team’s recent form suggests there will be goals in this one and it’s the nature of the two managers to get on the front foot – the fact it’s a cup tie makes me even more confident there will be goals. I’ve been extremely impressed with Napoli and their front three are key to their success. Fiorentina are capable of giving them problems but I think they will just fall short come the end of the tie and Napoli should make it through.
