Crotone vs Napoli predictions, betting tips & match preview

It’s pretty safe to say that things haven’t been going Napoli’s way lately. They were the closest challengers to Juventus in Italy last season, but this year they’ve already fallen off the pace. Three straight defeats has hit them on the domestic and continental front, but can they put that right with a win over the bottom side in Serie A?

Napoli’s defeat to Roma last weekend saw them slip from second to fourth, having already lost at Atalanta the week before. They needed to bounce back with a Champions League win, but they were beaten 3-2 by Besiktas. That means the Turkish side are breathing down their neck, having looked set to win the group after the opening two matches.

What makes things even worse is that their key forward is out missing. Arkadiusz Milik was brought in to replace Gonzalo Higuain, and he was doing exactly that before getting injured on international duty. That’s left a big hole up front for the team from Naples, they have to essentially replace £75million forward Higuain for the second time in months. Within their squad, Dries Mertens seems the most likely to fill that void. He scored in midweek, and he’s 4/5 to score any time here.

Crotone know quite a bit about tough spells, as they’re bottom of the table, having picked up just one point all season. Their solitary point came against Palermo at home, they’ve been blown away outside of that. They’ve conceded 2.33 goals per game at home this term, but they’ve been scoring goals. They’ve found the net in 100% of their home games this season.

They’ve also got a strong record against their next opponents, having scored three times in their two home meetings with the Partenopei. The visitors aren’t exactly in any place to put a stop to that record, having conceded nine times in their last four games. Overall this season, they’ve conceded 1.13 goals per game. Crotone create chances at home, and Napoli concede from 11% of the shots they face. That’s why we’re backing both teams to score here, at 6/5 with bet365.