Napoli vs Frosinone – News and Probable Lineups

Currently behind their promoted opponents in the Serie A table, Napoli will be looking to climb above Frosinone when they meet at Stadio Maradona this Saturday.

After surprising Como right before the break, the Canarini are now aiming to take another scalp against a Champions League side in Campania.

Match overview

New Napoli head coach Massimiliano Allegri has not made a strong impression, with only two victories from the initial six matches since he replaced Antonio Conte during the summer.

A daunting schedule hasn’t helped matters, as Napoli already faced consecutive defeats from the champions of Italy and England, falling to Inter de Milano in Serie A and Arsenal in the Champions League.

Before the international break, Allegri’s side eased some pressure by defeating Bologna at home, followed by securing a draw in Florence in their last outing.

Billy Gilmour’s first-half goal put Napoli in front against Fiorentina, but they ultimately drew 1-1, leaving them positioned ninth in the Serie A standings at this early stage.

On paper, Napoli’s upcoming fixtures seem more manageable with successive league matches against newly promoted teams; they’ll visit Venezia following the Frosinone clash. Nevertheless, the latter currently resides within Italy’s top six.

There’s at least some historical comfort for Napoli this week: they have triumphed in five of their six previous encounters in the top division, scoring an average of over three goals per match.

The visitors, however, will be eager to showcase that their current form is the more telling factor, having made an impressive start to their return to the top flight.

Frosinone’s previous stints in Serie A ended in relegation, but under Massimiliano Alvini, they are performing very well so far.

Unlike Napoli’s more conservative tactics under Allegri, Frosinone’s attacking style has been fruitful, earning Alvini the Serie A Coach of the Month award, while young forward Antonio Raimondo secured the ‘Rising Star’ accolade.

Prior to an inconvenient international break, Frosinone secured a 2-0 victory over Como at Stadio Stirpe, elevating them to sixth place with a solid 10 points.

Now, a further upset win could see them become the first promoted team to achieve 13 points after six matches since a post-Calciopoli Juventus squad accomplished this nearly two decades ago.

Team News

The international break has enabled Napoli to reduce their list of absentees, with Alex Meret, Leonardo Spinazzola, and Scott McTominay back in full training.

After missing international duty with Scotland, McTominay has been cleared to play following minor heart surgery but is not anticipated to be in the starting eleven.

In less positive news, Antonio Vergara suffered a calf injury during his initial appearance for Italy and might be sidelined for the remainder of October.

Additional players out include Alisson Santos, Alessandro Buongiorno, Mathias Olivera, and Costantino Favasuli, while Frank Anguissa’s availability remains uncertain.

Rasmus Hojlund leads the hosts’ scoring with two league goals, but Frosinone’s duo of Raimondo and Giorgi Kvernadze have already combined for seven goals.

The latter is statistically one of the most effective dribblers in Serie A, having scored in his last three club outings; however, he failed to score as Georgia was blanked four times in the UEFA Nations League.

While Raimondo hopes to feature despite withdrawing from the Italy Under-21 squad due to an Achilles issue, Florian Grillitsch is yet to return from hernia surgery.

With Raimondo in doubt and Romanian forward Daniel Birligea ruled out with a muscle injury, Slovak striker Tomas Bobcek may receive his first Serie A start.

Napoli probable starting XI:

Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Marin, Spinazzola; Gilmour, Lobotka; Politano, De Bruyne, Neres; Hojlund

Frosinone probable starting XI:

Palmisani; Oyono, Calvani, Monterisi, Bracaglia; Masini, Calo; Ghedjemis, Schmid, Kvernadze; Bobcek

Even though Frosinone have shown greater fluidity to their play thus far, Napoli are typically hard to overcome on their home ground – plus the three-week pause may have disrupted the Canarini’s rhythm.

With crucial players returning, the hosts can secure a victory and equal their determined visitors on 10 points.