Napoli vs Roma away guide: Lazio residents banned from buying tickets, Fidelity Card fans only

Napoli host Roma at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Saturday in the 159th Serie A meeting between the sides, a fixture known as the Derby del Sole. Napoli head coach Massimiliano Allegri faces a difficult start to his tenure, with Saturday's clash offering either a chance to turn things around or added pressure on his position. Last weekend Napoli lost 1-0 to basement side Venezia, their third defeat in seven league matches this season (D1, L3), leaving them nine points behind early pacesetters Inter. Napoli bounced back in midweek Champions League action with a 4-3 win over Bodo/Glimt, their first points in this season's league phase after losses to Arsenal and Villarreal. Roma, by contrast, are enjoying their best Serie A start since 2014/15, with 17 points from seven matchdays. Gian Piero Gasperini's side eased past Genoa last weekend despite the absence of Donyell Malen, maintaining a near-flawless league record this term (W5, D2). Malen returned to the scoresheet on Tuesday as Roma thrashed Slovan Bratislava 4-0 at home for their first Champions League victory this season (D1, L1). History favours Napoli. The Partenopei have avoided defeat in their last eight home meetings with Roma in Serie A (W4, D4), their longest such streak since 1982. In 158 previous top-flight meetings the sides have shared the spoils 55 times (W50, L53). Napoli have lost three of their opening seven Serie A matches for the first time since 2009/10, and they are looking to record three consecutive league clean sheets at the Maradona for the first time since October 2021. Their scoring is a concern: they have netted one goal or fewer in five of their last seven outings. The only two exceptions came at this stadium, where they beat Bodo/Glimt and Frosinone by a combined 7-3. Roma return to the win column after back-to-back Serie A draws, and they have not won away at Napoli since March 2018. Roma had won four successive away league matches before being held to a scoreless draw by Como on their last Serie A trip, keeping three clean sheets in that run. They are the only Serie A side yet to concede a goal away from home this term, and could register four road shutouts to open a top-flight campaign for the first time since 2017/18. Napoli's team news includes Alessandro Buongiorno, David Neres, Costantino Favasuli and Alisson Santos on the sidelines, while Antonio Vergara's return from injury gives Allegri a timely boost. Rasmus Hojlund, the hosts' first-choice striker, has scored just two goals this season. Malen is available for Roma after serving a one-game suspension against Genoa. Paulo Dybala is struggling with a calf injury and will miss the match, along with Mile Svilar, Manu Koné and Lorenzo Pellegrini. Napoli (3-4-2-1): Meret; Beukema, Marin, Rrahmani; Di Lorenzo, Lobotka, McTominay, Spinazzola; Politano, De Bruyne; Hojlund. Roma (3-4-2-1): Gollini; Mancini, Ndicka, Hermoso; Lulli, De Roon, Pisilli, Wesley; Soulé, Mora; Malen. The preview judges Roma to be in far better shape than their rivals, though home advantage and Napoli's historical edge in this fixture remain significant. Prediction: Draw.

Roma head to face Massimiliano Allegri's Napoli looking to end a long run without an away win against him, a record stretching back to December 2010. Roma are trying to stay in touch with Inter and Lazio at the top, but Allegri's side have proved a stubborn obstacle. Tomorrow's match will be Allegri's 29th meeting with Roma. The first came in 2008, when he was coaching Cagliari and lost 3-2 at the Olimpico. Since then the Tuscan coach has managed Milan and Juventus (on two occasions) and now Napoli. The last time Roma beat him away was 18 December 2010, a 3-0 win with a decisive goal from Marco Borriello. Since then, Roma have lost nine times and drawn three times against him in away fixtures. The most recent defeat came last season, with a goal from Pavlovic and a missed penalty by Dybala. Gian Piero Gasperini will now try to overturn the odds against his side.

Matías Soulé has been entrusted with Roma's attacking play for the trip to the Maradona, with Gian Piero Gasperini relying on him as the last available genuine creative option. Paulo Dybala is absent, and Lorenzo Pellegrini is injured, leaving the attack severely depleted for what is billed as a championship supermatch. According to Il Messaggero, Roma are rallying around their last available true playmaker. With the injury list full and the attack stripped bare, Gasperini is placing his faith entirely in Soulé, who must carry the team in a setting that holds particular meaning for him. It was at Napoli a year ago that his outstanding start to the previous season was abruptly halted by a fierce groin injury (pubalgia), which forced months of pain, time on the bench and rest after a start of seven goals and seven assists. Despite a summer dominated by transfer speculation and the possibility of a sale, Soulé has won back the trust of the club's environment and reclaimed his place in the side through his performances. Now, without his usual partners, he is ready to take centre stage: he must play in Donyell Malen and lead the team on a night that carries the feel of a major test.