So after being reminded last week that this team isn't always as dead as it seems, we head into one of the toughest matches of the year. A trip to the San Paolo.
Its no shock that Napoli are on a hot streak. They demolished Juve last week with a 3-0 win, Cavani is joint top of the scoring table, and hes proved that he can practically score from anywhere. Yet remember he "technically" didn't score when they played us at the Franchi. But if we want to come away with points we're going to have to play like we did against Juve. Few mistakes, solid keeping, and a whole lot of defense.
Last season we demolished Napoli here with a Gila double and a goalkeeping blunder that left the San Paolo for Jojo's taking.
The key to this game is to make the best of every chance. That means Gila needs to bury them, and Adem needs to be fast and accurate. We're going to need excellent marking to cover Cavani and Lavezzi and even if they get through we'll need our Superpole to be ready and on his line.
The good news is Gila and Boruc seemed to be recovered and ready to start, yet Vargas is still on the treatment table. Even better news sees Hamsik sitting this one out due to accumulation of yellow cards.
Mihaj has chosen a classic 4-4-2 so that Gila won't feel AS isolated as usual. Boruc will start between the posts, an offensive looking defense will be made of LDS, Gambero, Kroldrup, and Pasqual. With Cerci out, and our midfield decimated by injuries, We're looking at a Donadel-Montolivo-D'Agostino midfield with Santana acting as a trequartista behind Gila and Babacar or a more defensive approach with Ljajic.
Napoli are showing up with their traditional 3-4-2-1 and its their midfield that does the most damage. De Sanctis will start in goal with Campagnaro, Cannavaro, and Aronica in front. Maggio, Gargano, Pazienza, and Dossena will run an offensive mid while Sosa and Lavezzi back up Cavani.
The San Paolo is a fortress in every sense of the word and its going to take the perfect game to take points from here.
FORZA VIOLA!!!