Grava could be given a start ahead of Fernandez as Campagnaro will probably return only for the Coppa final. I hope it’s not Gianluca’s last game in a Napoli jersey.

De Sanctis – Grava, Cannavaro, Britos – Maggio, Gargano, Inler, Hamsik, Zuniga – Pandev, Lavezzi

Normal Sunday kickoff time, so if you’re watching a live stream please share your link with other Napoli fans.

These teams met as recently as early January with Napoli winning 3-1 at the Stadio Renzo Berbera. Pandev opened the scoring before Cavani scored a wonderful goal that was very similar to his goal against Roma on Saturday. Hamsik completed the scoring for Napoli before Palermo grabbed a consolation goal.

I doubt Palermo has improved much since the andata match. They currently sit tied for 14th and are supposedly still battling for safety although I can’t see both Lecce and Genoa winning 3 straight games to drag Palermo into a relegation battle.

The Rosanero will be missing Balzaretti, Miccoli, Della Rocca, and Mantovani. For the second straight match Napoli have good luck with the other team missing key players — this time Balzaretti and Miccoli — because of injuries. Notice how Mazzarri never talks about the good luck that Napoli gets? You only hear from Mazz whenever the luck starts to go against Napoli.

Palermo also played on Saturday drawing 1-1 with Catania in the Sicilian derby. With both teams on just 2 days rest fatigue should be a big factor and the winner could be whatever manager makes the best in game adjustments. In the 2nd half the game will cry out for fresh legs and Mazzarri will have to make smart subs.

Kickoff: 20:45 Central Europe, 19:45 UK/Ireland, 2:45 Eastern, 11:45 Pacific, and 5:45 Wed morning for Australians.

Enjoy the game and as always Forza Napoli

On Tuesday night Palermo visit the San Paolo in what should be a straightforward victory for Napoli. Campagnaro is out again and Lavezzi is only fit enough for the bench. There are plenty of rumours about Lavezzi moving to another club in the offseason: Anzhi Makhachkala and Paris St-Germain definitely have the financial muscle to buy out Lavezzi’s contract while the rumours are growing of Inter making a push to acquire Lavezzi for next season. It’s very strange that at this crucial point in the season Napoli aren’t pushing Lavezzi to play as much as possible despite not being 100%. Of course, if you’re about to sell a player to another club the best way to keep the player’s value high is to not risk any major injury. You’ll recall that last summer I predicted that Napoli would sell Hamsik in the offseason to either AC Milan or Man United, and that proved to be very false. So I won’t go out on a limb and say Lavezzi will be sold, but I believe the club would very seriously consider selling Lavezzi in the summer if the price was right.

The 2-2 draw with Roma was Napoli’s season in a nutshell. Good attacking play undone by iffy defending. Not only that but Napoli put themsleves in a hole by going down 1-0 before storming back to put themselves in a position to win, only to settle for a draw by conceding a late goal. At times Napoli was very good and showed they have the skill to play in the Champions League, at other times they looked fatigued and vulnerable after a long season with very little rotation. Notice how Di Matteo is rotating the Chelsea players and they keep getting results? This is what Napoli has to aspire to. The team can’t be giving up 2 goals a game and expect to reach the Champions League every season.

It’s funny how many outsiders who don’t follow Napoli very closely look at the big picture – tied for 3rd in Serie A, Champions League round of 16, Coppa Italia final – and conclude that Mazzarri is a managerial genius. When do the players start getting the credit they deserve? If there’s one certainty about Napoli it’s that they are one of the hardest working teams in the league, and Mazzarri deserves credit for this. But a lot of Napoli’s success is down to having superior players which cost the club a lot of money over the last five years.

Those superior players will have a great chance to return to the Champions League next season, as long as they don’t repeat the first half performance against Roma. The jury is still out on Mazzarri.

I’m not sure about Roma’s lineup but with their absences they have fewer options. Perhaps Totti and Bojan up front? Either way I believe the conditions are there for Napoli to win, although if Roma play a good match a draw won’t be disappointing at all.

Udinese hosts Lazio on Sunday so Napoli is given a huge advantage – neither of those teams can collect maximum points. With a win Napoli can either leapfrog Lazio or distance themselves from 5th place Udinese, or both if the teams finished tied.

Remainder of schedule is as follows: Palermo (h), Bologna (a), Siena (h). That really is an ideal way to close out the season, as Siena is the best placed of those teams at tied for 10th. And two of those games are at home.

Match kicks off Saturday at 20:45 CET, 19:45 UK/Ireland, 2:45 Eastern, and 11:45 Pacific. Enjoy the match, and let’s see if Napoli’s mini-revival continues.

De Sanctis – Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Aronica – Maggio, Gargano, Inler, Dzemaili, Zuniga – Hamsik, Cavani

This is a re-scheduled match from two weekends ago so it starts in the afternoon rather than the evening. Kickoff is 15:00 Italy time, 14:00 UK/Ireland, 9:00 Eastern and 6:00 Pacific. There is virtually no TV coverage so a live stream is the best bet. I’m pretty sure it’s not even on ESPN3 for those who have access.

Napoli is still alive for 3rd place and with Lazio facing Novara a win is probably necessary to keep pace. In fact, Napoli almost have to win out and hope both Lazio and Udinese drop points. Because you don’t make up ground on teams by getting draws. Making up 4 points on Lazio is starting to become more difficult as the season comes to a close. Plus Roma trail Napoli by just one point and Inter by 2. So it will be very interesting to see how the teams finish from 3rd to 7th.

Forza Napoli!

Mathematically speaking Napoli still has a very small chance at 3rd place, so I guess there’s something to play for. Novara isn’t yet relegated but are looking for miracles.

Tragedy on the pitch puts everything into perspective

Following the death of Piermario Morosini on Sunday Dave Taylor recalls his happy days at Livorno and pays his respects to the former Italian U21 midfielder.

Sad news when hearing that Trevor Francis, the former Sampdoria and England great had suffered a heart attack. Although unexpected, it was sadly not unusual for older men in Great Britain. Fortunately the 57-year-old, who brought a lot of pleasure to me in Serie A during his four years with Sampdoria between 1982-86, is recovering. Not long before him Bolton Wanderers player Patrice Muamba collapsed on the field with heart problems but thankfully he also looks like recovering.

However, the tragic news from Bergamo yesterday with the death of Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini brings it just that much nearer home. The 25-year-old former Italian U21 ace was on loan at Livorno from Udinese and collapsed on the pitch 30 minutes into the game. Medics on the scene tried to resuscitate him on the pitch, but according to the cardiologist at the hospital to which Morosini was taken he was dead upon arrival and never regained consciousness.

The match was abandoned as players left the pitch in tears. Udinese informed the Italian football association (FGIC) that they could not play their scheduled match against Inter later that day after such a shock and consequently all games across all divisions this weekend were suspended not long after.

In the 1980’s I lived in Viareggio, a town just 20 miles up the Via Aurelio from Livorno, which is the birthplace of Italy’s Communist party. I often went to the Armando Picchi stadium to watch the Amaranto and got to know some great people there on the terraces and still keep in touch with one or two of them.

I liked it there as it was a warm club and made you feel very welcome, and like the rest I joined in and enjoyed singing the ‘Red Flag’ before every game. Although I never got to know any of the players personally, I knew who they all were and became very attached to the club and next to Maradona loved to watch my favourite number ten of the time Igor Protti. Like at Napoli the fans were close to the players then and vice-versa and undoubtedly it is still the same today.

When I heard the news yesterday I felt for some of those fans. My friends, who still love the club with all their earthly souls, will be devastated by all this. Of course I reserve my total sympathy for the surviving relatives of this poor unfortunate boy. His life wasn’t the easiest and after losing his parents at 18 and his younger brother committing suicide recently he and his sister were the only members of the family still living. And as a good brother to his handicapped sibling he bravely soldiered on and never let her down, selflessly devoting his life to her.

For once the Italian FA reacted quickly and did the right thing cancelling games throughout the peninsula. It would have been extremely difficult for any person with any emotional attachment to the game to cheer or indeed jeer their players today.

Everyone in the Italian football family is feeling the pain today and from the biggest clubs like Inter sending condolences to the smallest no-one has been untouched by this tragedy.

words: Dave Taylor

Match kicks off at 20:45 local time which is 19:45 in the UK and Ireland, 2:45 pm Eastern and 11:45 on the west coast. Australians can rise early Thursday morning for a 5:45am start if I have my timing correct.

Gargano returns from suspension, but Napoli still have some important absentees. Zuniga sits the 2nd of his two game ban while Maggio is still injured. Both Cannavaro and Britos picked up yellows against Lazio so they serve a one game suspension for accumulating too many yellows. I believe Cannavaro is on his 10th yellow and if this was the EPL he’d be out for two matches having already done one suspension. But in Serie A it’s just another one game ban.

With Dossena the only wingback available Mazzarri will have to go with the 3 man midfield again, and the defence also needs an adjustment. Pandev should keep his starting spot as he offers a unique attacking role: he’s technically as good as Hamsik but a better finisher than Lavezzi. Of course he doesn’t have Lavezzi’s speed and stamina but his left foot is dangerous. In fact, Pandev has played better than Hamsik since January and is currently a better attacking option. Expect a lineup close to the following:

De Sanctis – Campagnaro, Fernandez, Aronica, Dossena – Gargano, Inler, Hamsik – Pandev, Lavezzi – Cavani

Let’s hope Napoli get off on the right foot again because an early deficit will just raise the stress levels for the rest of the match.

I won’t make a prediction but this is the kind of game where Cavani usually chips in with a goal or two.

April 11: Atalanta
April 15: @ Lecce
April 21: Novara
April 28: @ Roma
May 1st: Palermo
May 6th: @ Bologna
May 13th: Siena

May 19: vs. Juvenuts

I seem to remember that when Napoli had these fixtures in the andata part of the schedule we all thought Napoli would string together plenty of wins and zoom up the table. Of course it didn’t happen as Napoli struggled against sides like Atalanta, Novara, Bologna and Siena, not to mention Roma. The big question is has Walter Mazzarri learned anything from the andata portion that he will correct in the ritorno? The chance for 3rd is still there as long as Napoli win matches they should win. It’s a simple as that. Yes we need both Lazio and Udinese to drop points between now and the end of the season, but Napoli can challenge as long as they win their games.

The frustrating part about Mazzarri’s Napoli is that they do very well in the matches you would expect Napoli to struggle with, and tend to play poorly in the matches where you would expect Napoli to coast. Tactically the team hasn’t grown very much as Mazzarri is still relying on i titolarissimi to get results. It’s no coincidence that Napoli’s struggles of late have come when problems like fatigue, injuries, and suspensions kick in. Mazzarri still struggles to use his depth players and integrate younger players into the team. It was the same at the end of the last season, but Mazzarri saved face by getting Napoli into the Champions League and doing quite well in that competition. But if Mazzarri doesn’t become more flexible, Napoli will remain a Europa level team that has a really good cup run every 2nd season or so.

And next season I believe Napoli will find the Europa League more difficult than they expect. I had a conversation with my friend and we both agreed that the Europa League is a lot stronger than people give it credit for. It often has quickly improving teams that may not have been Champions League quality a season ago but find themselves surging in the Europa League. Take Porto last season, for example, or Athletic Bilbao this season. In order to go deep in the Europa League you essentially have to be playing Champions League quality football to knock teams out. This season, of the 8 teams that dropped down from Champions to Europa only one team (Valencia) made the quarter-finals. Some big teams like Man United, Man City, and PSV could not make the quarters despite taking the competition reasonably seriously while Schalke exited at the quaters despite being one of Germany’s hottest teams.

So the last 7 Serie A matches will go a long way towards figuring out Napoli’s identity. Despite two very good cup runs this season Napoli has fallen off the pace in Serie A, and if the season ended today Napoli would only qualify for the Europa League with Italy’s Coppa Italia spot – not through the league. However there is still time left for Mazzarri to get it right. Even if Napoli play great down the stretch, 3rd place may be too much to ask if Lazio and Udinese play just as well. But by the end of the season, we should know whether Mazzarri is the right person to grow the team for another two seasons, or whether he’s a manager who is great at getting short term results.