Both winners in midweek, southern giants Napoli and Roma will meet at Stadio Maradona on Saturday evening, to play out this season's first Derby del Sole.

While they scored four goals apiece in Tuesday's Champions League games, the hosts trail Roma by seven points in Serie A after some dismal domestic results.

Match preview

Having struggled to match expectations, the pressure was piled high on Napoli earlier this week, as they sought to recover from chastening back-to-back defeats. 

Losing to Villarreal in the Champions League was one matter, but being beaten by pointless Venezia caused quite a stir in Naples and beyond.

Kevin De Bruyne had missed a penalty as the Partenopei were upset by Serie A's rock-bottom side, so there was a great sense of relief when they won a seven-goal thriller against Bodo/Glimt.

Though Napoli twice allowed Bodo to pull level at the Maradona, they ultimately came out on top, with Scott McTominay's brace helping them over the line.

Even after posting the club's 100th victory in Europe, Max Allegri is still struggling to win over the fans, with his team only sitting ninth in Italy's top flight.

Trying to take the positives from a difficult time, they have kept clean sheets in their last two Serie A home matches - and recent history will be squarely behind them on Saturday.

As hosts, Napoli are unbeaten in eight league games against Roma, which represents their best run in this fixture since the 1980s.

However, current form suggests the visitors could be ready to end their long drought at the Maradona, having made a fine start to the campaign.

Roma have already picked up 17 points in Serie A - their best tally after seven games since 2014 - following a 2-0 victory over Genoa last weekend. 

Santiago Castro's clever improvised finish broke the deadlock, before Emanuele Lulli scored his first senior goal, leaving the capital club tucked behind league leaders Inter and city rivals Lazio.

Then, they bounced back from a dramatic defeat to Real Madrid - in which they had led with eight minutes remaining but somehow ended up empty-handed - by thumping Slovan Bratislava 4-0 in the Champions League.

Top scorer Donyell Malen calmly converted a penalty as the Giallorossi strolled to victory at Stadio Olimpico, moving them onto four points from three games so far.

While they still face a challenge to make the knockout phase - notably, double champions Paris Saint-Germain are their next opponents - Gian Piero Gasperini's team must quickly shift focus back to Serie A.

Boasting Italy's top defence, and yet to concede an away goal this term, Roma will now seek their first win in Naples for more than eight years.

Napoli Serie A form:

Napoli form (all competitions):

Roma Serie A form:

Roma form (all competitions):

Team News

After finally getting off the mark in Europe, Napoli may keep changes to a minimum, though Stanislav Lobotka, Sam Beukema and Benoit Badiashile will all hope to win a recall this weekend.

Allegri is still without Alessandro Buongiorno, David Neres, Costantino Favasuli and Alisson Santos due to injury, but Antonio Vergara has just resumed team training and could be involved.

Set to start up front, Rasmus Hojlund has previously played 223 minutes against Roma without scoring a Serie A goal, and he has only struck twice for the Partenopei this season.

Meanwhile, Malen has netted nine in as many club games so far; his preferred partner will be missing, though, with Paulo Dybala still sidelined by a calf strain. 

Roma's midfield fulcrum and first-choice goalkeeper are also unavailable: Manu Kone (thigh) and Mile Svilar (toe) have been ruled out.

Lorenzo Pellegrini added to Gasperini's woes by picking up a new injury in midweek, but Bryan Cristante is now back in full training.

Napoli possible starting lineup:

Meret; Beukema, Marin, Rrahmani; Di Lorenzo, Lobotka, McTominay, Spinazzola; Politano, De Bruyne; Hojlund

Roma possible starting lineup:

Gollini; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Lulli, De Roon, Pisilli, Wesley; Soule, Mora; Malen

We say: Napoli 1-2 Roma

Although Roma will be missing key men through injury, Gasperini's fluent side are far ahead of Allegri's Napoli in terms of cohesion.

So, it could finally be time for the Giallorossi to win a Derby del Sole down in Campania, which would keep them close to the Serie A summit.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.