10/19/19 12pm
Over 2.5 (-188), Under 2.5 (+150) Click Here for the Latest Odds
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Napoli is welcoming Hellas Verona to Stadio San Paolo in part of round 8 of Italian Serie A.
Napoli is the main favorite for the title in Serie A alongside Juventus and Inter, I would even give them a slight advantage over Inter because they are capable of scoring more goals. Napoli has lost only 1 of their last 7 games and is 4th in the standings with 13 points. In the first seven games, Napoli has scored 15 goals, but their problem is the defense which is unstable and lacks consistency and that has cost Napoli 10 goals in 7 games. In their last match against Torino, Napoli was attacking and has had 61% of ball possession, 3 shots on goal, 5 corner kicks, and 84% of correct passes, but Napoli just wasn't able to score a goal and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Belgian star Dries Mertens has scored 4 goals for Napoli while Insigne added 3 goals and 3 assists. Nikola Maksimovic is the only injured player for Napoli and will not be in the lineup. Napoli is a great team with a lot of attacking firepower and it's only a matter of time before coach Ancelotti gets his defense in line and better form. In my opinion, Napoli is playing the best soccer in Serie A but they always fall short when it matters most but this is Ancelotti's third season as the head coach, and I think it could be a good one.
Verona is one of the worst teams in Serie A who will be scrapping for points in the relegation zone for most of the season. Even though Verona hasn't lost any of their last 3 Serie A games I don't see this streak lasting for much longer. In their last match against Sampdoria, Verona played some solid soccer and has had 47% of ball possession, 3 shots on goal, 9 corner kicks, and low 67% of correct passes. While Verona was able to score 2 goals and win 2-0, it's their defense that stepped up and defended against all Sampdoria's attacks. Verona has scored only 6 goals thus far in the season and 2 of those were scored by Veloso. Badu and Bessa are injured and coach Ivan Juric will not have them at his disposal. Verona is in 10th place in the standings at the moment and they are playing some solid soccer, but they just don’t have enough quality or depth to keep that going. Verona is the newcomer to Serie A after ending up 5th in Serie B last season, but the management hasn't done anything to improve the team and for that reason, I believe that Verona will be one of the teams that will get relegated.
Napoli hasn't lost any of their last 11 home matches against Verona. Napoli is the better team here in every aspect and even though they are playing in the Champions League next week, I'm not giving a lot of chances to Verona in this game and I see Napoli scoring early and keep the pace going.
Goran’s Pick First Half goals: Over 1.5 +120
AUTHOR: Goran Kucar
Follow Goran Kucar on Twitter @GoranKucar