Napoli vs Roma Prediction: Injuries could hamper hosts’ chances

Serie A's standout fixture on Sunday comes from Naples, where third-place Napoli host an AS Roma side two places and three points behind them.

Below are my Napoli vs Roma predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of the weekend's action from the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona (19:45 GMT, live on Betfred.com).

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Team News

Napoli head coach Antonio Conte will be crossing his fingers for the safe return of Scott McTominay, who sat out his side's midweek Coppa Italia quarter-final exit to Como with a muscle injury.

While the Scot has a chance of featuring this Sunday, Billy Gilmour (groin), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (knee), Kevin De Bruyne, Frank Anguissa (both thigh) and David Neres (ankle) are more likely to be sitting in the stands.

Juan Jesus certainly will be, as he is serving a suspension for the red card he received in last Saturday's 3-2 win at Genoa.

Football Odds

Roma, meanwhile, must make do without Mario Hermoso, Manu Kone (both hip), Robinio Vaz (muscle), Stephan El Shaarawy (Achilles), Artem Dovbyk (groin) and Evan Ferguson (ankle).

Paulo Dybala may return after a two-game injury absence, though.

Napoli vs Roma Odds

Napoli, who won the reverse fixture 1-0 in November, are 5/4 favourites on Sunday, implying a 44.4% probability of success, while Roma are 5/2, or a 28.6% chance, to triumph in Naples for the first time since March 2018.

The draw is offered at 2/1, both teams to score at 1/1, and over 2.5 total goals at 6/4.

Draw No Bet - Roma @ 11/8

Like against Como in midweek, I find it difficult to trust Napoli with McTominay missing, which he may well be again on Sunday.

If that's the case, I like the look of Roma in the Draw No Bet market, meaning that if the game ends in a stalemate, your stake will be returned.

Today's Football Fixtures

Roma have won seven of their 12 away matches in Serie A this season (L5), including two of their last three at Lecce (0-2) and Torino (0-2).

Napoli are unbeaten in the league at home this season, winning eight and drawing three of their 11 games in Naples, but two of those stalemates have come this calendar year against Hellas Verona (2-2) and Parma (0-0), and they've only scraped past Sassuolo (1-0) and Fiorentina (2-1) in their last two, while they required a stoppage-time penalty to down Genoa 3-2 away from home last weekend.

Both sides are counting the cost of injuries, but Napoli are worse off, in my opinion, so I think it's worth opposing them on Sunday, especially as they played in midweek, while Roma have had three extra days to prepare.

Player to Receive a Card - Alessandro Buongiorno (NAP) @ 13/5

Roma forward Donyell Malen has drawn seven fouls and three yellow cards in four Serie A appearances since joining from Aston Villa in January.

The 27-year-old has lured Torino defender Ardian Ismajli and a pair of Cagliari players, defender Alberto Dossena and midfielder Gianluca Gaetano, into caution-worth challenges, so the best bet for a Napoli card on Sunday is probably a defender.

I like the look of Alessandro Buongiorno, who is averaging 1.8 fouls per 90 in Serie A this season, and 2.7 per 90 in the Uefa Champions League.

The 26-year-old has been booked twice in the Italian top flight, including in Napoli's last home game, a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina on January 31.