Soccer Football - Serie A - Napoli v Venezia - Stadio Diego Armando, Naples, Italy - December 29, 2024 Napoli's Giacomo Raspadori scores their first goal past Venezia's Filip Stankovic REUTERS/Ciro De Luca/File Photo
(Reuters) - Napoli can steal a march on fellow Serie A title contenders when they play at Fiorentina on Saturday, taking advantage of their main rivals being pre-occupied with cup matches in Saudi Arabia.
Inter Milan, Atalanta, Juventus and AC Milan are all competing in the Supercoppa Italiana in Riyadh, while the rest of the Serie A matches will be take place as scheduled.
Hence Antonio Conte's side can move clear of Atalanta at the top of the standings if they avoid defeat against Fiorentina. Atalanta and Napoli are currently tied on 41 points.
Fiorentina's renaissance after an impressive run of eight consecutive league wins appears to have stalled as they have earned only one point from their last three matches and now sit fifth in the table with 32 points.
Napoli will be without injured defender Alessandro Buongiorno, while Fiorentina will have to make do without the services of Edoardo Bove.
CAPITALS IN CONTRASTS
The fortunes of the two capital clubs, AS Roma and Lazio, have been vastly different. Lazio sit comfortably in fourth place, just six points off the top, while also leading the Europa League standings. In stark contrast, Roma find themselves 21 points adrift from the summit in 10th and already on their third coach of the campaign.
Roma coach Claudio Ranieri, who took charge in November, admitted that his side needed a morale boost after all the upheaval they have had to endure.
"When you take over mid-season there is always a bit of confusion, the players’ morale is not at its best. I tried to give them back enthusiasm and a smile," he told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of Sunday's derby against Lazio.
"Little by little we are coming together: we have done well, but not yet as I would like. The road in football is always uphill.
He added that the turnaround would take time for the club.
"In England they say: 'Rome wasn’t built in day'. No one has a magic wand."
At the lower end of the table, Ranieri's former club Cagliari face a clash against Monza on Sunday as both teams grapple with the threat of relegation. Monza are rooted to the bottom with just 10 points from 18 matches, while Cagliari are 18th with 14 points.
Newly appointed Monza manager Salvatore Bocchetti began his tenure with a 2-1 loss to Parma, the decisive goal coming in the 98th minute on Saturday. He will hope for a swift turnaround as the season nears its halfway point.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
