Napoli vs Cagliari Predictions

• Both teams have not scored in six of Napoli’s last seven matches
• Both teams have not scored in the last thee meetings of the clubs
• Napoli beat Cagliari 1-0 at home in Serie A earlier this season

Napoli’s titlle defence takes precedence

Napoli begin their Coppa Italia campaign with a winnable round of 16 home clash against a Cagliari side that they have already beaten at home this season. Antonio Conte’s side did, however, need a 95th-minute Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa goal to secure that 1-0 success and are unlikely to have anything like their best XI out for this fixture.

Conte rotated heavily at this stage of the competition last season and saw his side bow out after a 3-1 loss at Lazio. The Partonopei are in the midst of a tight title defence with AC Milan level on points and two other huge rivals, Inter and Roma, in close pursuit.

So it is unlikely that key players like Scott McTominay, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and David Neres – who scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over the Giallorossi on Sunday – are involved from the start.

De Bruyne blow has changed Napoli’s nature

Kevin De Bruyne remains unavailable through injury and it is noticeable how Napoli have changed since the Belgian suffered the hamstring tear against Inter Milan in late October. Napoli have failed to register over 1.0 expected goals in three of their subsequent seven games, although their defence has tightened up too.

Conte’s men have conceded only three goals and kept five clean sheets in those seven outings with both teams failing to score on six occasions. Both teams had scored in six of Napoli’s seven games prior to the playmaker’s injury.

Opposing goals at both ends looks like being the standout betting opportunity for this clash, with each of the last three meetings of the clubs also failing to see BTTS land.