Napoli vs Brescia Predictions

Napoli’s title hopes took a hit on Wednesday, with the Partenopei losing 1-0 at home to Cagliari. That defeat has left them trailing both Juventus and Inter Milan. Carlo Ancelotti’s side need to be more consistent if they’re to emerge as genuine contenders for the Scudetto. Can Napoli get their campaign back on track with three points in this clash?

This is the worst possible time for a wobble as far as Napoli are concerned. The Partenopei have fallen off the title pace as a result, while Wednesday marks their return to Champions League football. They head into October with crucial visits to Genk and Torino, so a return to form would be useful.

Brescia are into midtable after a solid start, although they were edged out by Juventus on Tuesday. The visitors put up a fight against Juve, but they were beaten 2-1 by the champions. However, could they follow in Cagliari’s footsteps with a victory in this visit to Naples?

The hosts will seem vulnerable here following the midweek smash and grab that they were on the wrong end of. However, Napoli did dominate that game, they just needed a little more in attack to return to winning ways. Luckily, they meet a Brescia side who are conceding goals.

They have conceded twice or more in three of their last four games, while we expect them to struggle away to Napoli. The Partenopei failed to score in only 11% of their home games last term, so we doubt it’ll happen twice in a matter of days. However, will the defensive frailties which allowed Cagliari to grab a win be cleared up by then?

The sending off of Kalidou Koulibaly is a blow for Napoli – regardless of his displays so far. He’s an excellent defender on most days, and better than anyone in his position on his day. Napoli have conceded 1.5 goals per game on average in the 32 Serie A matches which they have played without Kalidou Koulibaly (who is suspended from this game) since he joined the Partenopei, while with him on the pitch they have averaged just 0.9 goals conceded per match in the Italian top-flight.

Koulibaly would be useful in a clash with Brescia, a side who have scored in four of their five Serie A games so far. The visitors have scored six times in five matches, including a goal against the champions on Tuesday.

Napoli have one clean sheet in the league this season, conceding nine times already. They finished last season with both teams scoring in 12 of their last 13 league games, so we are backing goals here. Both teams to score is our pick, along with a 2-1 win for Napoli as they look to return to form.