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Roma host Napoli in huge Serie A clash

By Matt English

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 26: AS Roma player Radja Nainggolan celebrates during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AS Roma at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 26, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 26: AS Roma player Radja Nainggolan celebrates during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AS Roma at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 26, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images) /
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Second place Roma looks to continue their dominance as they host Napoli in a top of the table clash

Both Roma and Napoli have been having great domestic seasons. The two teams sit in second and third place, with Roma on 59 points and Napoli on 54. The two meet for the second time this season, with both sides needing all three points to keep pressure on leaders Juventus.

Napoli will look to get revenge after losing the first meeting 3-1 earlier in the season. A brace from Dzeko and a goal from Salah saw Roma come away with all three points. Since that loss, Napoli have lost just twice in league play and five times in all competitions. They will have their hands full with a few key players on Roma in stellar form.

One man who seems unstoppable is Edin Dzeko. The Bosnian has an amazing strike rate, with 11 in his last ten matches. He leads Roma with 19 goals overall and is a spearhead leading the team up top. Napoli will have a tough time keeping him off the score sheet , but will look to cut supply to the target man as much as possible.

Another problem for Napoli will be midfielder Radja Nainggolan. The Belgian has caught fire lately, scoring five and assisting two in his last seven matches. Against Inter, he scored two goals from distance and picked up man of the match in the process. Nainggolan is playing in more of an attacking role lately, playing a sort of left wing position. It is a bit different from the box to box midfield position he is used to, but he seems to have adapted very well.

Predictions for the match

With Napoli and Roma being the two highest scoring teams in Serie A, there is bound to be goals in this match. Roma have been setting up in a 343, meaning there will be plenty of space in behind for Napoli’s potent offense to exploit. Both teams love to run a counter attacking style of play, so it will be interesting to see who can out-pace who when the break is on.

Polish striker Arkadiusz Milik could get a start after returning from injury recently. He is much like Dzeko in terms of being a target man. Insigne and Mertens will look for him in the box on crosses just like Roma does for Dzeko. Both teams will need to be aware of their markers if they want to keep the scoring to a minimum.

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The match kicks off at 9am EST on Saturday, March 5th. Both teams are coming off disappointing first leg Coppa Italia losses in the semi-finals. The teams will be looking to rebound with a strong performance in the league, so expect a fast paced game with plenty of action at both ends of the pitch.

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