Napoli kick off their 2022-23 campaign with a game against Hellas Verona looking to make a positive start after the disappointment of missing out on the Serie A title last season.
Meanwhile, it has been a summer of change at Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium with Gabriele Cioffi being brought in as the replacement for Igor Tudor, who left the club for Marseille.
Tudor’s move to Marseille was a reflection of recording 15 wins and 11 defeats from 37 matches in charge, but the change coming in July was far from ideal for Hellas Verona.
However, after impressing at Udinese on a caretaker basis, there is a feeling that Cioffi deserves to be in charge for the 2022-23 campaign, and the Verona hierarchy will feel confident that they can continue to challenge for a top-half finish.
There has been notable arrivals and departures in terms of transfers, but the biggest exit is seemingly yet to come with last season’s top scorer Giovanni Simeone on the brink of signing for Napoli.
With that being far from ideal ahead of such a tough opening match, Cioffi will hope that the enthusiasm of the new campaign will lead his side to a positive start under his guidance.
Meanwhile, Napoli were conternders to end their 32-year wait to win the top flight for a large part of last season, only to eventually finish seven points behind eventual champions AC Milan.
While another challenge will be the aim this season, Luciano Spalletti will have to make do without the likes of Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Kalidou Koulibaly at his disposal.
Despite Napoli having enjoyed a productive pre-season, their best win came against La Liga newcomers Girona, and the opening weeks of the campaign could prove challenging with trips to Fiorentina and Lazio to come by September 3.
Hellas Verona vs Napoli head to head
The two teams have previously met on 27 occasions across all competitions, where Verona have claimed five victories while Napoli have won 15, and they have drawn in seven. Verona have scored 23 goals and conceded 49. In their last five meetings Napoli have won two, Verona one with two draws.
Verona 0-2 Napoli 23/06/20
Verona 3-1 Napoli 24/01/21
Napoli 1-1 Verona 23/05/21
Napoli 1-1 Verona 07/11/21
Verona 1-2 Napoli 13/03/22
Hellas Verona latest home form
Hellas Verona have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their six most recent matches. They lost 4-1 to Bari in their last home game in the Coppa Italia. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded 11.
Verona 1-3 AC Milan 08/05/22
Verona 0-1 Torino 14/05/22
Verona 1-0 Virtus Verona 16/07/22
Verona 4-3 Cremonese 30/07/22
Verona 1-4 Bari 07/08/22
Hellas Verona latest away form
Hellas Verona have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their seven most recent matches. They drew 3-3 with Lazio in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded eight.
Empoli 1-1 Verona 20/03/22
Inter Milan 2-0 Verona 09/04/22
Atalanta 1-2 Verona 18/04/22
Cagliari 1-2 Verona 30/04/22
Lazio 3-3 Verona 21/05/22
Napoli latest home form
Napoli have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their nine most recent matches. They played out a goalless draw with Espanyol in their last home game in a friendly. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded five.
Napoli 4-1 Perugia 17/07/22
Napoli 2-2 Adana Demirspor 27/07/22
Napoli 1-1 Mallorca 31/07/22
Napoli 3-1 Girona 03/08/22
Napoli 0-0 Espanyol 06/08/22
Napoli latest away form
Napoli have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their nine most recent matches. They managed to defeat Spezia 3-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded five.
Verona 1-2 Napoli 13/03/22
Atalanta 1-3 Napoli 03/04/22
Empoli 3-2 Napoli 24/04/22
Torino 0-1 Napoli 07/05/22
Spezia 0-3 Napoli 22/05/22
Hellas Verona news
Hellas Verona will be without Federico Ceccherini, who came off injured during the 4-1 defeat to Bari in the Coppa Italia.
Davide Faraoni will feature with his red card only applying to that competition, but Antonin Barak will expect to earn a recall after only being included on the substitutes’ bench last time out.
Napoli news
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kim Min-jae are both in line to be handed Napoli debuts on the flank and in the centre of defence respectively.
New arrival Leo Ostigard will likely begin the game among the replacements, as may Poitr Zielinski who only started on the substitutes’ bench in the final friendly against Espanyol.
Prediction and Odds
There are some influential names missing from this Napoli squad, and they are heading somewhat into the unknown this season.
However, with Hellas Verona under new leadership, we feel that the visitors should have enough quality to come out on top in what is likely to prove to be a tight contest.
Odds: 1 2.30 X 2.05 2 2.20
Probable outcomes
Verona 0-1 Napoli
Verona 0-2 Napoli
Verona 1-2 Napoli
Verona 0-0 Napoli
Verona 1-1 Napoli
