Preview: Napoli vs Cremonese - prediction, team news, lineups

After their Serie A unbeaten streak at Stadio Maradona was finally ended, Napoli will aim to start another on Friday evening, when they host relegation-threatened Cremonese.

The Partenopei's first league loss in Naples for well over a year crushed their last hope of defending the title; meanwhile, lowly Cremo are merely fighting for survival.

Match preview

Having seen a run of five straight wins ended by a disappointing draw in Parma, Napoli fans then witnessed the fall of a much longer sequence last week, when Lazio deservedly prevailed at the Maradona.

A tame 2-0 defeat ended the hosts' 26-match unbeaten streak at home in Serie A - which dated back to December 2024 - and left them 12 points adrift of Inter Milan in this year's Scudetto race.

Picking up just one point from those fixtures could even threaten Napoli's precious Champions League place - albeit fifth-placed Como now lie eight behind with five rounds remaining.

Antonio Conte's side may have added the Supercoppa Italiana to their trophy cabinet this season, but the best they can realistically achieve in the league is fending off Juventus and AC Milan to finish runners-up.

With a perfect record against the promoted teams so far - winning four from four by an aggregate score of 8-2 - the southern giants expect to take a step in that direction this weekend.

One such success was December's 2-0 victory in Cremona - where Rasmus Hojlund decided matters with a first-half brace - and Conte will demand a similar result on Friday.

Looking back down the decades, Cremonese have lost all but one of eight attempts to defeat Napoli in a top-flight away fixture, only scoring one goal in the process.

Though history is not on their side, the Grigiorossi would dearly love to reverse that trend, as they remain in distinct danger of a swift return to Serie B.

Last year's playoff winners started well under Davide Nicola before plummeting down the standings, and only a late change of management has slowed an apparently inexorable decline.

Cremonese have picked up a modest four points from as many matches under new boss Marco Giampaolo - having lost all of the previous four - but they still await just their second win of 2026 following Sunday's 0-0 draw with Torino.

As 18th-placed Lecce then fought back to claim a point against Fiorentina on Monday night, only goal difference is keeping Cremo out of the drop zone.

Furthermore, the Lombardy club look to have a tougher run-in than their main relegation rivals, starting with this week's trip down to Naples.

Napoli Serie A form:

W W W W D L

Cremonese Serie A form:

L L W L L D

Team News

Though Amir Rrahmani was back on the bench last week, following a seven-game absence, Napoli still await fitness tests on captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo and young forward Antonio Vergara.

Romelu Lukaku has returned from his controversial rehabilitation period in Belgium, but he is not ready to play; David Neres recently resumed full training but is not yet available.

Set to support top scorer Hojlund up front, Scott McTominay has three goals in his last six Serie A matches; winger Matteo Politano has been directly involved in four across his last four league appearances at the Maradona.

Cremonese are still missing Jamie Vardy with a muscular problem, while Faris Moumbagna and Morten Thorsby are both major doubts.

Michele Collocolo is not expected back until the start of next month, as he continues to recover from a thigh injury.

In Vardy's absence, Federico Bonazzoli, Milan Djuric, Antonio Sanabria and David Okereke have all failed to find the target in Cremo's last two matches, but the same quartet will vie for two spots once again.

Napoli possible starting lineup:

Milinkovic-Savic; Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Olivera; Politano, Anguissa, Lobotka, Spinazzola; De Bruyne, McTominay; Hojlund

Cremonese possible starting lineup:

Audero; Terracciano, Baschirotto, Luperto, Pezzella; Zerbin, Grassi, Maleh, Vandeputte; Bonazzoli, Sanabria