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

After their victory streak was ended last week, Napoli's Serie A title defence is all but over, but their fight to finish second will continue at home to Lazio on Saturday evening.

The reigning champions sit a long way behind leaders Inter Milan with just six rounds remaining, while their Roman rivals suffered another setback last time out.

Match preview

Following five straight wins, a minor slip was surely enough to end any slim hope of retaining the Serie A title, as Napoli fell nine points behind Inter in this year's Scudetto race.

While the latter impressively recovered from two goals down to win 4-3 in Como, Antonio Conte's side struggled to a 1-1 away draw with Parma.

After falling behind via an early error, the Partenopei drew level through talisman Scott McTominay, but they failed to find a winner despite dominating the final half-hour.

Even so, Napoli remain favourites to finish runners-up, having overtaken AC Milan by claiming 16 points from a possible 18 across the last six Serie A matchdays - more than any other team.

Before returning to Naples this weekend, the Campanian club are unbeaten in top-flight home fixtures since December 2024, when Lazio won 1-0 at Stadio Maradona.

Conte's men have subsequently recorded 19 wins and seven draws, while they recently beat the Biancocelesti in Rome: first-half goals from Leonardo Spinazzola and Amir Rrahmani secured victory at Stadio Olimpico.

Though they lost January's reverse fixture, Lazio have actually won all of their last three away games against Napoli - as many wins as they had managed throughout the previous 20.

However, recent form suggests they may struggle to keep that streak going, as the capital club are marooned in mid-table after Monday's 1-0 loss to Fiorentina.

That tame reverse at Stadio Franchi left them occupying ninth place in the table, 13 points behind city rivals Roma, who hold the final guaranteed ticket to Europe.

At the end of a troubled campaign, Lazio's last hope lies in the Coppa Italia, and the second leg of their semi-final against Atalanta will take place next Wednesday - the first leg ended 2-2.

So, Maurizio Sarri's main goal is to lift some silverware before probably departing in the summer, partly covering for some dismal displays in Serie A.

Ahead of a tough trip to Naples, his team have failed to score in 10 of 16 away games so far, and even Sarri has admitted losing patience with such a sub-par attack.

Napoli Serie A form:

W W W W W D

Lazio Serie A form:

L W W W D L

Lazio form (all competitions):

D W W W D L

Team News

After seven games out of action with a hamstring injury, Rrahmani could be back on the bench, but Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo will not return until next week's game against Cremonese.

Once again, Romelu Lukaku, David Neres and Antonio Vergara are also ruled out.

Set to join Kevin De Bruyne in support of top scorer Rasmus Hojlund, McTominay has notched three goals in his last five league matches.

While Di Lorenzo is not yet ready, Lazio welcomed their captain back slightly ahead of schedule on Monday night, and Mattia Zaccagni should be involved at Stadio Maradona.

Adam Marusic and Nicolo Rovella are still out of commission, while number one goalkeeper Ivan Provedel has just been joined on the sidelines by third-choice Alessio Furlanetto.

Centre-backs Mario Gila and Samuel Gigot have both resumed training, but Daniel Maldini remains a major doubt; if the latter is absent, Boulaye Dia should pip Tijjani Noslin and Petar Ratkov to selection up front.

Napoli possible starting lineup:

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

Lazio possible starting lineup:

Motta; Lazzari, Romagnoli, Provstgaard, Tavares; Basic, Cataldi, Taylor; Isaksen, Dia, Zaccagni