9 games in 42 days including Barcelona, Inter, Milan
Here we are. Inside out. After the break for the national teams, the decisive moment of the season begins. In fact, before the next stop, they will be 9 matches to be played in 42 days for Napoli. If the Azzurri were to pass the Europa League round against Barcelona, they would even pass 11. At the end of this cycle we will know if Napoli are still on the train for the seasonal objectives or not.
Venice, Cagliari, Verona, Udinese
It goes without saying that Napoli’s ambitions pass above all from these matches. If Napoli is forced to chase the first places and still look over their shoulders, they owe it in particular to the points lost against the small. The most dangerous seem to be Venice and Verona. The Venetians beat Roma, stopped Juventus and put Inter in serious difficulty in the last round. Tudor’s men are having a splendid championship and are just 5 points from Europe. However, making mistakes is not in the plans.
Napoli-Inter
Saturday 12 February at 18 is the date to mark on the calendar. Inter (who will have to recover the match with Bologna) will have the derby with Milan first, and if they would have lost points, they would reach Maradona forced to fight the remaining advantage in the standings. A Napoli victory would make Spalletti’s men drop their masks, who would be among the candidates to win the Scudetto. Clearly in these parts such a thing is said with a lucky horn in hand and pretending not to believe it. In the end, the goal remains the Champions League position, and Juventus is strengthened in this winter market with Vlahovic and Zakaria. Napoli has no obligation to win, so zero pressure.
Barcelona-Naples (round trip)
The blaugrana are not the ones more than once, but they remain a great team. January signings Dani Alves, Ameyang, Ferran Torres and Adama Traoré (only three of them can be placed on the list for European leuba) plug big holes in Barcelona’s squad, but if Napoli get there with all the players and play as they did at the beginning of the season, they will give life to two fascinating challenges in these round of 32 of the Europa League. While starting from the underdog by the forecasts.
Lazio-Naples
In the first leg clearly the best performance of Napoli of all 2021. However, the discontent of recent times at Lazio due to the non-existent winter market should not underestimate the commitment. The biancocelesti led by the former Sarri in the weeks have slightly adjusted the last defense and oiled the mechanisms. They remain the only team to have beaten Inter to date, so the important thing is not to let them turn on. Difficult to uncover the side as in the first leg.
Naples-Milan
The last big match of this series of Napoli matches. The Azzurri and Rossoneri are currently on equal points and both teams will face Inter in their first direct match. However, Milan have been out of Europe since December and could have more freshness. The advantage of Mertens and his companions must be the Maradona, hoping that the maximum capacity will be increased. Lately, the home of the Azzurri no longer seemed like a fort, then the two victories against Sampdoria and Salernitana came to fix things. A good slice of the championship is being played with the Milanese.
It would be reckless to risk any prediction. Potentially Napoli has what it takes to win every single game of the cycle. Unfortunately that is not enough. It takes attention to detail, organization, physical fitness and mental strength in not being overwhelmed by adverse episodes. And that pinch of magic every now and then directed to the right side, which sport can give.