Napoli - Torino predictions and free betting tips [08/03/2024]

On Friday, 8 March, in the framework of the 28th round of the Italian Serie A, Napoli will host Torino on their home turf. The hosts are gradually righting the ship in the league table and have chalked up two consecutive victories, whereas Torino has already lost hope of qualifying for the European spots. 

Predicted Line-ups

Napoli: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Natan, Juan Jesus, Mazzocchi; Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.
Torino: Milinkovic-Savic; Djidji, Buongiorno, Rodriguez; Bellanova, Linetty, Gineitis, Vlasic, Masina; Sanabria, Zapata. 

Stadium

The match will take place in Naples at Stadio Diego Maradona.

Napoli

Sitting in 7th place in the Serie A standings and trailing the top four by 8 points, Napoli have no hope of entering the Champions League zone. On the other hand, qualification for lower-tier European competitions remains within their reach. Due to inconsistent results for the reigning Italian champions during this campaign, they have had 3 different head coaches, and only the appointment of Francesco Calzona seems to be improving the situation.

Under the guidance of the Slovak specialist, the blues drew 1:1 with Cagliari, and then beat Sassuolo (1:6) and Juventus last weekend (2:1). In the round of 16 of the Champions League, Napoli held Barcelona to a draw (1:1) and will head to Catalonia for the second leg next Tuesday. It's important to note that the hosts have not been performing well at home this season: in 13 home matches they have accumulated only 21 points (the 10th best record in the league), scoring 19 goals and conceding 17. 

Torino

Torino are in 10th place in the Serie A standings and trail the forthcoming rivals by 6 points. A defeat on Friday could jeopardise the bulls' chances of qualifying for the European spots. After a 6-game undefeated streak (3 wins and 3 draws), Ivan Juric's charges have slowed down: first losing to Lazio (0:2) and Roma (3:2), and then sharing the spoils with Fiorentina last weekend (0:0).

Only three Serie A teams have scored fewer goals in the last three rounds of the championship, and generally, Torino have not been performing well on the road: in 13 away matches they have accumulated just 13 points, scoring 11 goals and conceding 17. Moreover, they have only managed to win one of their last 8 away matches- against struggling Cagliari (1:2). Torino can count on the experience of Buongiorno, who has recently recovered from an injury. 

Head-to-Head

In the first half of the season, Torino managed to achieve a resounding victory on their home field with the score 3:0. However, in the five previous head-to-head matches, Napoli invariably came out on top.

Match prediction for Napoli – Torino

Under Calzona's leadership, Napoli has transformed, and the white-and-browns intend to come into their second leg match against Barcelona in high spirits. On the contrary, Torino has slowed down in recent weeks and has been very unsuccessful on the road. Additionally, the visitors basically have no competitive motivation, as it will be almost unreal to catch up from such a distance to the European cup zone. My prediction, a victory for Napoli.

Total prediction

Despite all their attacking problems, Torino defends very compactly: only 25 goals conceded in 27 rounds. I do not expect a high-scoring shootout from the match and I bet on the total number of goals to be under 3.

Corner prediction

Napoli outclasses the opponent and is playing at home, while the bulls will barricade themselves in their own penalty area from the first minutes. I bet that the hosts will have at least 6 corners in the match.

Yellow card prediction

Both teams earn just two yellow cards per match, and in the three previous head-to-head matches, they have totalled no more than two warnings. I bet on the total number of yellow cards to be under 4.5.

Score prediction

I am betting on a precise score of 2:0 in favour of Napoli.