A lot to look out for at the Olimpico
The 2018/19 Serie A season gets underway on Saturday, and already we’re greeted with a potentially mouthwatering fixture. Lazio and Napoli kick off at 19.30, in a match up where there are no clear favourites.
Both Lazio and Napoli have retained many of their key players, and considering what they’ve been up to in pre-season it looks like both have an abundance of attacking quality at their disposal.
Lazio
Lazio have had a good summer holiday. They managed to get over £30 million quid for Felipe Anderson and they’ve reinvested that dosh wisely. Correa is going to give over much more finesse in attack, while their central line across the board is looking healthier than ever with the additions of Acerbi, Badelj and Berisha. That central combination will be most effective in order to release their prime offensive weapons in Sergej and Immobile.
Overall we’re looking at a much more balanced side than last season, and with a lot more attacking potential. They’ve had a relatively tough preseason. But even considering that there’s still hope in making a strong start in Serie A.
I still think Lazio’s foremost capability is in their ability to score goals, and as long as Immobile stays free from injury, Lazio will always remain a danger in the oppositions penalty area.
Napoli
I find it hard to believe that Napoli will have a season to remember like last year’s campaign. Last season they’d should’ve taken the Scudetto, but in the end it was just one step too far for them and they’ll probably have to wait a long time for it to come back to the San Paolo.
The biggest change is the departure of Maurizio Sarri with the incoming Carlo Ancelotti. I have a feeling that the players who were other worldly under Sarri such as Callejon and Mertens will fail to shine as brightly under Ancelotti. Another factoring hindering progress will be the loss of midfield motor engine Jorginho who has now been replaced by Fabian Ruiz and only time will tell how well that works out.
Napoli lost 0-5 against Liverpool in pre-season, but really turned it on in a 3-1 beast of a match against Borussia Dortmund. There’s a lot of attacking quality available, not in the least with players like Hamsik and Insigne. They’re heading to the Olimpico in the hunt for three points, and they know the importance of bagging a few goals in order to make it happen.
Match Tips
This a tough one to call. There isn’t a stand out favourite so to speak. If we cast our eyes back to last season then we’re looking at two teams who both scored a lot of goals, and neither have lost the key elements that created those offensive opportunities.
I think both teams will open their goal accounts for the new season and that’s why I’m counting on there being over 2.5 goal in this fixture on odds of 7/10 (1.73) with BetVictor.
