Napoli vs AZ Alkmaar Predictions

• Napoli lost just one of their last 14 home matches in all competitions.
• AZ scored nine times in their last three assignments.
• Alkmaar shipped nine goals at the opposite end in the same game however.

Napoli to hit the ground running

With three wins from their first four Serie A matches of the new season, tournament dark horses Napoli will start their group stage campaign powered by momentum and confidence on Thursday.

Fresh from a resounding 4-1 win over Champions League competitors Atalanta on Saturday, the Partenopei will expect to keep the good results coming against Eredivisie side AZ, though the teams’ respective records hint that a consolation effort might be on offer for the visitors.

In emerging starlets Teun Koopmeiners, Myron Boadu and Calvin Stengs, Alkmaar have some of the continent’s most in-demand young players, and having notched nine goals in their last three games, AZ’s touch in the final third looks lethal enough to get on the scoresheet in Naples.

Napoli, beaten just once in 14 games at the Stadio San Paolo, will expect their superior quality to eventually tell however, making the home win and both teams to score combination excellent value at the prices quoted, while our correct score prediction points towards 3-1 victory for Gennaro Gattuso’s charges.

AZ shipped seven goals in their last two away assignments in the Eredivisie, and Napoli, who bagged 10 goals in their first two home tests this term, possess enough star quality to punish Alkmaar’s lax defensive performances on Thursday.