Roma vs Napoli: Serie A Preview & Potential Line-ups

Stadio Olimpico forms the backdrop for the 155th Serie A Derby del Sole between top-four hopefuls Roma and Scudetto-bidding Napoli. 

Sunday's top-four Serie A six-pointer in Rome comes in the midst of both teams' rich vein of form.

Jose Mourinho's Roma have gone into overdrive since a 1-0 home loss to Atalanta in mid-September, registering three consecutive league victories in the run-up to this encounter.

Starting with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory at fellow top-four challengers Inter Milan in early October, the Giallorossi have taken down Lecce and Sampdoria to climb to fourth in the table. 

Mourinho is on the cups of winning four Serie A games in succession for the first time as a Roma manager, but he couldn't have asked for a sterner test ahead of this potential history-defining fixture. 

Inspired by new city hero Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Napoli have seized control of the top place in the Italian top flight on the back of an eye-catching ten-game unbeaten league start (W8, D2).

Victor Osimhen painted his long-awaited return to the fold with flying colours, scoring a match-winning goal to complete his side's come-from-behind 3-2 home victory over Bologna last weekend. 

Match Preview

Roma

Each of Roma's three consecutive Serie A triumphs in the build-up to this showdown has come via a single-goal margin, suggesting Mourinho may have returned to his old habits. 

However, the Portuguese boss finds himself in a precarious spot after standout performer Paulo Dybala picked up a long-term injury, casting doubt on the Giallorossi's hopes of maintaining an impressive home league record in 2022 (W7, D4, L2).

Mourinho may need to turn to out-of-sorts striker Tammy Abraham to shoulder the scoring burden and help Roma defy an underwhelming six-game home form against Napoli in Serie A (W1, D1, L4).

Napoli

Napoli's abovementioned comeback against Bologna bookends a jaw-dropping ten-game winning streak across all competitions and puts them in a perfect spot to make history in Rome.

A victory at Olimpico would see the Partenopei equal the club-record 11-game winning run, which dates back to 1986, and, in turn, prove their Scudetto credentials. 

Not since the glory days of Diego Maradona had Napoli won the Serie A title. But the league's most prolific attack that's netted 25 goals this season fills head coach Luciano Spalletti with confidence. 

Roma vs Napoli Potential Line-ups

Roma (3-4-2-1): Rui Patricio; Gianluca Mancini, Chris Smalling, Roger Ibanez; Rick Karsdorp, Bryan Cristante, Nemanja Matic, Leonardo Spinazzola; Lorenzo Pellegrini, Nicolo Zaniolo; Tammy Abraham. 

Napoli (4-3-3): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kim Min-jae, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui; Tanguy Ndombele, Stanislav Lobotka, Piotr Zielinski; Hirving Lozano, Victor Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.