Serie A Preview: Palermo - Napoli

Stop The See-Saw

After an impressive run of three wins on the trot against Atalanta, Sampdoria and Udinese, the Sicilians seem to have reverted to their old ways. The bouts of inconsistency which were all so common in the first part of the season are apparently back and the Southern Derby with Napoli has now assumed extra significance after their last two disastrous outings.

After coming out on the losing end against Roma, Davide Ballardini’s men naively bowed to Genoa last weekend, when the match was heading for a goalless draw.

The Genoani sprung the offside trap late on and central defender Domenico Criscito easily tapped the ball into the empty net.

Their early January revival had propelled Palermo to the edge of the Champions League zone, but they are now back in the middle of the pack and will face an uphill fight to even qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Ballardini has incredibly managed to escape the wrath of president Maurizio Zamparini so far, but the honeymoon period is unlikely to continue any longer if he doesn’t quickly steady the ship.

Palermo have won four times against Napoli at home, while the Vesuviani have three wins, the latest one in the 1968-69 season (0-2), and there have also been eight draws.
 
Bye Bye January

The first month of the year has gone by and Napoli coach Edy Reja can finally breathe a sigh of relief; ever since taking over at the Stadio San Paolo back in 2005, the Azzurri have struggled after the Christmas break under the veteran's tutelage.

They fell to humiliating defeats by Massese and Sassari in Serie C and mustered only five points in the successful 2006-07 Serie B campaign which ultimately saw them return to the top flight.

Last season, they were trounced 5-2 by Milan and allowed Cagliari to fight back for a 2-1 win in stoppage time.

It was no different this year, as Napoli only scraped past Catania in the first game after the festive period and then suffered three consecutive defeats that severely damaged their Champions League aspirations.

However, the gutsy performance against Juventus in the Coppa Italia quarter-final on Wednesday showed some promising signs, particularly because Reja finally decided to change his tactics for once and switch from his trusted 3-5-2 formation to a more solid 4-3-1-2, which enabled the team to keep a clean sheet for the first time after leaking nine goals in their last four outings. 

FORM GUIDE

Palermo
1 February (Serie A): Genoa 1-0 Palermo
28 January (Serie A): Roma 2-1 Palermo
25 January (Serie A): Palermo 3-2 Udinese
18 January (Serie A): Sampdoria 0-2 Palermo
11 January (Serie A): Palermo 3-2 Atalanta
 
Napoli
4 February (Coppa Italia): Juventus 0-0 Napoli [aet, pen 4-3]
31 January (Serie A): Napoli 2-2 Udinese
28 January (Serie A): Fiorentina 2-1 Napoli
25 January (Serie A): Napoli 0-3 Roma
18 January (Serie A): Chievo Verona 2-1 Napoli

Last season: Palermo 2-1 Napoli

TEAM NEWS

Palermo

Midfielder Fabio Liverani has been ruled out for two weeks due to a muscular problem, while striker Levan Mchdlidze will be sidelined for at least a month with a medial ligament sprain.

Croat hitman Igor Budan is a long-term absentee, but Fabrizio Miccoli is likely to lead the front line after skipping the trip to Genova with a bout of tonsillitis.

Possible Formation (4-3-1-2): Amelia; Cassani, Carrozieri, Bovo, Balzaretti; Bresciano, Migliaccio, Nocerino; Simplicio; Miccoli, Cavani.

Napoli

Aside from the usual goalkeeping problems, Reja has no fresh injury concerns after the Coppa Italia game with Juventus. Argentine Nicolas Navarro is expected to retain his place between the posts, as Matteo Gianello is out for a month and first-choice ‘keeper Gennaro Iezzo is unlikely to recover from back pain.

Midfielder Daniele Mannini is banned until January 2010, so youth product Luigi Vitale looks set to get the nod on the left channel, unless new signing Jesus Datolo will get international clearance to play in Serie A.

Possible Formation (3-5-2): Navarro; Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini; Maggio, Blasi, Gargano, Hamsik, Vitale; Lavezzi, Denis.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Palermo: Edinson Cavani

The Uruguayan marksman was expected to fill Amauri’s boots at Palermo this season, but had a tough start and was often booed by the Rosanero supporters. However, he has hit his stride of late and netted his ninth goal of the season in Rome last month. With the arrival of compatriot Abel Hernandez, Cavani will face increased competition and needs to keep the momentum going.

Napoli: Ezequiel Lavezzi

'El Pocho’ was undeniably man of the match for Napoli in the Coppa Italia tie with Juve. He was a constant thorn in the Bianconeri’s side and ran tirelessly until the very end of the encounter, so much so that Claudio Ranieri from the touchline apparently wondered: “How can he do that?”

PREDICTION

Palermo have an impressive home record with eight wins and only two defeats and are eager to return to winning ways after two straight losses. Napoli have failed to pick up a single point out of their last six away games and after a 120-minute battle with Juve in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday, it looks like number seven is on the way.

Palermo 2-0 Napoli

Vince Masiello, Goal.com