im reading about Totti's injury in Usa and Osvaldo's flu
Marcos is suspended

so i think

-----Gio/stek
Piris--Burdisso-castan-Balza
Bradley-DDR/tacht-Florenzi
--Lamela-destro-pjanic

unless Totti or Osvaldo become available

Napoli is inconsistant like Roma so i really hope we be the team on form and catch Napoli of form

Napoli v Roma: a bit of history

According to the smorfia napoletana [the Neapolitan method of choosing lottery numbers] it means "two old maids", but next Sunday, 66 will only signify the number of matches between Napoli and Roma (20:45 kick-off). To date, there have been 65 games between the two teams in Naples: 28 wins for Napoli, 20 draws, 17 wins for the Giallorossi. The most recent took place last season with Luis Enrique on the bench: 3-1, with an own goal from De Sanctis, followed by efforts from Osvaldo, Hamsik and then Simplicio. Napoli’s most recent win, however, dates back to 3 October 2010, when a goal from Hamsik and an own goal from Juan ended it at 2-0.

The first fixture between the two teams took place on 13 April 1930, a 1-1 draw with goals from Bernardini and Vojak. Coach Burgess' starting XI was Ballante, Mattei, De Micheli, Degni, Ferraris IV, D’Aquino, Fasanelli, Bernardini, Volk, Corsanini, Chini. Two of Roma's more lopsided victories came in the 1946/47 season (Salar and a brace from Krieziu) and another 3-0 in 2008/09, when Mexes, Juan and Vucinic found the net.

As the coach of Roma, Zeman has only once faced Napoli at the San Paolo, in the 1997/98 season: a 0-2 win thanks to Totti and Di Biagio. The Czech also had a managerial stint with the Partenopei but never faced Roma, as he was relieved of his duties after six matches. It was the 2000/01 season, that of Roma’s third Scudetto. Napoli v Roma that particular season was played in the penultimate round with coach Mondonico at the helm of Napoli. It ended 2-2, with goals from Amoruso, Totti, Batistuta and Pecchia (in that order). Had Capello’s side won the three points that day, they would have mathematically sealed the title. The Scudetto arrived just a week later, at home at the Stadio Olimpico on 17 June 2001.

However, that match in Naples is remembered more for what happened off the pitch than on it. The fans of the two teams clashed several times, both in the vicinity of the Stadio San Paolo as well as at the Campi Flegrei train station. The Giallorossi supporters in the visiting section were "protected" and sheltered by a net intended as cover from flying objects. A furious Capello stated, "What a disgrace, that cage." Since that day, Napoli v Roma has no longer been a game like the others; in 2008, 2009 and 2010 Roma fans were banned from travelling. And now only those in possession of the fan card may attend.

source : asroma.it

btw its amazing how the website has developed before it only had pictures

Thanks for setting up this preview, Epoto.

I'll be sure to do the next one a bit earlier next time.
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As for the match, the Derby of the Sun is hugely underrated honestly and has been ever since Napoli re-emerged as a continental force. I personally think this game will be huge for us because it's about more than just the points, which we definitely need. Beating a side like this, their poor form notwithstanding, would signal a true turning of the corner for us. I've been saying for some time now that we are not the Anti-Juve, but winning this match would probably be the strongest indicator yet that we may just be that very side.

Marquinhos' absence will be felt more than usual with Burdisso stepping in. I really would prefer to see Romagnoli, but being that the lad hasn't gotten in a proper look in all season, not even for the Orlando friendly, he's just not ready for this type of responsibility.

The only other worry is the fitness of Totti and Osvaldo, who are both suffering from flu-like symptoms. They are on the roster for the game, but starting the match could be a step too far for at least one of them. Either way, I see Mattia Destro getting sometime, which is what he will need. He's proven himself capable of taking advantage of the absence of any of the members of the 4th Triumvirate.

Big thing with this game is that we have to keep Cavani in our sights. I can easily see him scoring at least once, but if we can limit his impact on a whole as we did with SES then we'll be in very good shape against a Napoli side who just don't seem to be at the races, especially in the first half of the match.

Good luck guys for tonight! Forza Napoli!

Burdisso was rather good against Milan. And Lamela will rip Napoli apart.

Hagi wrote:Good luck guys for tonight! Forza Napoli!

Same to you, brah.

And welcome to the forum!

should be a cracking game. Hopefully Roma wins and get closer to top 2.

Castan vs Cavani should be interesting

we cant defend, cant finish... same old shit..

Congratulation to Napoli for their game , Cavani alone could have scored 8 goals if he was more careful , bad play and a deserved loss . Roma could have been 3rd now but is there any reason this team should get into CL, with games like this ?

i know MCLw likes destro but

He is like that pin on my nerves , even after scoring goals with that celebrations

Tough, tough loss, but Napoli deserved to win honestly. We weren't at the races until 30 minutes into the 1st half and then we just disappeared again in the 2nd until Simba's goal. Napoli were just devastating on the counter and the Castan-Burdisso partnership just couldn't deal with Cavani's movement or with Pandev's vision.

To add to that, we missed a bucket load of chances with Destro being the main culprit. The youngster tried his heart out and got into some enviable positions which more composed strikers would've buried (Osvaldo being one of them and he did), but I'm not upset with him. He did everything asked of him, but score. He'll have more chances to make up for that.

Mazzarri got his tactics spot on today though as we were always going to be very loose at the back against such a potent striker as Cavani and while I knew he'd score at least once, I was hoping we'd keep him under wraps after that, but he's like a shark that smells blood in the water. He knew where the gaps were and it was all too easy to run into them and expect a ball to roll into his feet, which more often is what happened today. I really can't say if Marquinhos might have done a better job against such a complete forward as Cavani is a completely different monster from SES, who Marcos handled with ease.

Overall, this was one to forget and I won't lose much sleep over it. We just have to get ready for our next match and try to get back on track.

Ah, a frustrating game, but like most games this year, it was a treat to watch.

DeRossi looked off his game tonight. Look for him to get dropped next game for Tachsidis.

We should have buried Napoli tonight with all the chances we had. I don't know why Totti was taking up a more central role in the first half, almost drifting to the right side at times.

He started the 2nd half over on Balzaretti's side, and we had two fantastic chances before Cavani's 2nd came. (Balzaretti and Totti have mad chemistry imo)

Our loss can be broken down to our CB's not being accustomed to each other. Burdisso kept Cavani onside a few too many times tonight, and Castan looked absolutely lost out there. With the way Marquinhos has been playing this year, I think he would have made a difference.

It's become more and more evident that we our major point of weakness is CB. We need to start to look for someone to play with Marquinhos.

I've been impressed with Piris more and more. He's definitely coming around, and Balzaretti has been as advertised.

Destro is young and I think he shouldn't be 1st choice starting these kind of games against the top 5 in serie A. You could tell he didn't have the physical strength like Osvaldo against Britos/Gamberini.

On to Osvaldo. We all know hes not sick, that's a big crock if I've ever heard one. He seems to be really immature. He's paid to be a professional.

I'd chock this loss up to bad luck. I think we beat Napoli today with even just a little bit of luck.

In summary, for January if we wanna compete for top 3, we need another young, promising 1 in 2000 young CB to partner Marquinho, and backup RB and LB for Balza and Piris. Shouldn't be to hard. Get it done Walter.

I would contend that Romagnoli can be that CB, Narbez. The kid is still very raw, but he's a bright talent who is well thought of in the youth talking circles.

What could we possibly have to lose?

I think your on to something there with Romagnoli, McLewis, Hopefully Zeman gives him a starting opportunity as soon as possible.

A few stats:
Shots on target: Napoli 5 - Roma 11
Shots off target: Napoli 2 - Roma 14
Attacks: Napoli 47 - Roma 59
Dangerous attacks: Napoli 28 - Roma 39

Maquinhos was missed. Hes positioning is much better than Castan or Burdisso. And I cant belive we didnt man-mark Cavani - the only real threat of Napoli... thats Zemans fault. It really is.

And Balzaretti - hes crossing is always awful. And Totti - ffs, dont shoot all the freekicks the same way that always fails..

Best moment of the match : When Pjanic kicked the camera-thing after he got the red card. That shows he really, really has his heart in it.

Bradley must think about what hes done. Should have made it 2-1.. and scores few more.

One has to question the mid-season trip, as the players looked mentally and physically flat. And a 'sick' Osvaldo did better than Destro, not doubting Destro, but shows that Osvaldo should be the starter.

I think DDR has motivation problem , he only plays well when things are against him , i don't blame Pjanic for anything his first yellow was a dive but the second one he was late . i expect tacht to return for DDR .

i misjudged Piris at the beginning i seriously hope Destro proves me wrong too , but considering his strength is his movement and getting into the right position then failure to score basically makes those two pointless or he is just in a Torres mode

I was expecting much worse in terms of a miss from Bradley after all I've heard is that he missed this "sitter". That wasn't a sitter, but normally Bradley puts anything like that away with precision so I understand the outrage given the frustration of that entire game.

Performances like this are the only reason I don't think we'll get into a Champions League place this year even though there is no reason we shouldn't be able to get there.

It was just one of those games where the ball wouldn't go in the net for us and it did so just about every time for Napoli. Just poor luck and poor focus. This was our chance to turn the corner and we ran right into the wall instead.

We coudlnt release players behind the napoli defense line. I hoped more through balls to Lamela and Balzaretti. But Napoli hold very compact, they played with 5 defenders.

McLewis can you make a thread for Catania game , Lazio just beat them 3-0 , there is fiorentina coi game after that and Osvaldo is suspended i think so Destro get another chance come on boy take ur chances plz

dat video

Yeah I'll do one after work today.