Preview: Parma vs. Napoli - prediction, team news, lineups

Winless in five Serie A games, Parma welcome Napoli to Stadio Ennio Tardini on Sunday, aiming to scupper the Partenopei’s slim Scudetto prospects.

Antonio Conte’s men head into the 32nd gameweek on a five-match winning streak, but they are running out of games to chase down Inter Milan, who are seven points clear ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

Match preview

Some may argue that Parma are on the proverbial beach after 31 rounds in Serie A, owing to the Emilians’ run of five matches without a victory.

Carlos Cuesta’s men had secured three wins on the spin in February, defeating Bologna (1-0), Hellas Verona (2-1) and AC Milan (1-0) to effectively ensure their top-flight participation for next season.

While their Serie A status is not under immediate threat as the Emilia-Romagna outfit are seven points clear of danger, that situation could change if the teams below them improve in the run-in.

Admittedly, that seems unlikely, with none of the teams in the bottom five — Cagliari, Cremonese, Lecce, Verona and Pisa — securing more than three points across the past five games.

Cuesta's men have also managed three points during their five-match winless run, and with only 18th-placed Lecce on 27 points having a mathematical chance of surpassing them, one would understand why the 13th-placed Parma are sleepwalking to the end of the 2025-26 season.

Napoli, however, cannot be accused of lacking motivation as the season reaches its final stretch, with the defending champions hoping against hope to supplant Inter at the top of the table.

Even though that ambition was possibly a stretch weeks ago, the defending champions have reeled off five consecutive wins to take advantage of the Nerazzurri winning just one of four top-flight fixtures.

While only the side above them have earned more points in the second half of the campaign — 27-26 — 15 of Napoli’s 26 have come in the last five rounds, underlining their late-season surge that has made the table-topping side sweat.

All those Partenopei victories have been narrow, with the Naples outfit defeating three strugglers — Verona (2-1), Lecce (2-1) and Cagliari (1-0) — one side with little left to play for in Torino (2-1) and former title contenders AC Milan (1-0).

Those results could easily have gone against the Azzurri, who will be wary of coming unstuck against an opponent they have failed to beat in two consecutive meetings, both goalless.

Indeed, getting the better of Parma is imperative to keep the pressure on Inter, and the travelling fans will hope for a positive outcome in Emilia-Romagna to keep alive their slight hopes of retaining the Scudetto.

Parma Serie A form:

Napoli Serie A form:

Team News

Adrian Bernabe is touch-and-go for Sunday after going off injured in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Parma.

The hosts, who are without the suspended Mateo Pellegrino, have to deal with injury-enforced absences of Benjamin Cremaschi (knee), Matija Frigan (knee) and Pontus Almqvist (thigh).

Without the suspended Pellegrino, who has scored eight league goals, and three-goal man Bernabe, who is doubtful, the side with the joint-fewest different scorers (10) in Serie A must find solutions to stop Conte’s team.

The defending champions have no such goalscoring worries, with 19 different players finding the back of the net for the Azzurri this term.

Napoli are without the injured Romelu Lukaku, Giovanni Di Lorenzo (knee), Amir Rrahmani (thigh), David Neres and Antonio Vergara, while Rasmus Hojlund is a doubt due to illness.

If 10-goal forward Hojlund misses out, the away side will lean on Scott McTominay for final third inspiration, with the midfielder aiming to add to his seven goals and three assists, with the ex-Manchester United man scoring twice in his last four league appearances.

Parma possible starting lineup:

Suzuki; Delprato, Circati, Valenti; Britschgi, Vaviglia, Keita, Sorensen, Valeri; Oristanio, Strefezza

Napoli possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Parma 0-2 Napoli

With Parma not in immediate danger and missing their leading scorer and possibly their second top marksman, a more motivated Napoli are expected to secure a routine win in Emilia-Romagna, extending their winning streak to six.

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