Parma v Napoli Match Result
We’ve got a 66% likelihood that Napoli are able to beat Parma according to the odds. Many will think Antonio Conte’s side are a banker considering that a win will take them to the verge of landing the Scudetto. However, a closer look at the Serie A table indicates that they have won just ten of their eighteen games on the road. It’s not a massive strike rate and they also come into this game after a hiccup.
After four straight wins in Serie A, the 2-2 draw with Genoa was completely unexpected. Perhaps it was a slightly freakish result considering that their opponents only had two shots on target compared to Napoli’s eleven, although the concession of a late equaliser indicates that the nerves might be starting to show as we get to the business end of the campaign.
Parma are four points better off than Empoli with two games remaining. They have only won six of their Serie A matches all season, although they have done a better job when it comes to drawing games. There have been fourteen games ending all square along with sixteen defeats, with a leaky defence conceding an incredible fifty-six goals.
Cristian Chivu’s side were promoted as Serie B champions last term and have made a decent fist of staying up. They were able to pull out all the stops to beat Juventus towards the end of April, with the defence holding tight on that occasion to help them to a 1-0 victory. Indeed, they were on a seven-match unbeaten run until their last two games.
There had been a spree of draws before defeats against Como and Empoli. A draw would certainly be welcomed in this game, especially by a title-chasing Inter side who might then be able to leapfrog their rivals with a game to go.
Goals Under/Over
According to the bookmakers, it’s a coin toss whether we’ll see Over or Under 2.5 Goals. When the teams met at the Diego Maradona Stadium at the end of August, we saw Napoli come away with a 2-1 victory. In that clash, Parma took a relatively early lead and had a player sent off in the second-half. They were able to hang on until injury-time where Conte’s men were able to score twice.
What might attract an Over 2.5 Goals bet is the sheer number of goals that have been scored at Stadio Ennio Tardini. The net has bulged fifty-three times in the space of eighteen home games, averaging nearly three per match. However, only three of the last eight Parma games have featured three goals or more and Napoli could be capable of a hatchet job.
After a 2-2 draw with Genoa, we might see a reaction from the Azzurri who need to win at all costs. If they go into the lead, we might expect Conte to keep a tight shape and that could lead to a relatively low-scoring encounter.
BTTS
The BTTS No option is trading as favourite right now and it’s not much of a surprise. We can definitely see a scenario where Napoli are able to achieve a bloodless win. Antonio Conte’s side will be all out for a victory and it’s unlikely that we’ll see Parma get much of the ball. They’ve also been short of goals in recent encounters as their two defeats testifies.
On the flip side, this is the final Parma home game for what has been a relatively successful season. They have a puncher’s chance of claiming a positive result and will know that their opponents creaked when it mattered against Genoa. They have managed to also score in three of the previous four games, including that 1-0 triumph over Juve where they registered two shots on target compared to their opponents’ two.
Before that 2-2 draw with Genoa, the visitors had claimed all four of their consecutive wins without conceding. Therefore, they are clearly capable of reverting to type in this encounter. Having successfully shut out Empoli, Monza, Torino and Lecce, perhaps the next team to feel their wrath will be Parma.
First Goalscorer
Scott McTominay took a break from scoring duties against Genoa although the former Manchester United midfielder still laid on a superlative assist for Romelu Lukaku to score the game’s opener. The Scot has been a good value scoring bet in recent weeks, finding the net twice against both Empoli and Torino. In between these braces was also a goal away to Monza and perhaps he will rise to the fore here.
You have to imagine a scenario where Parma station plenty of players behind the ball and perhaps McTominay will be able to prosper from a set piece. Alternatively, that honour might fall to Lukaku and the Belgian bagged his sixteenth of the campaign last weekend. Giacomo Raspadori was also on the scoresheet and that was the second game running where the Italian was able to find the net.
As for Parma, they have managed to score twenty-five goals at home this term, with veteran forward Milan Djuric potentially their best source after bagging last weekend. Swedish midfielder Jacob Ondrejka started the season at Royal Antwerp before making the switch to the Serie A new boys and he was able to recently bag a brace away to Lazio.