Parma vs Napoli prediction, preview, team news and more | Serie A 2020-21
Napoli seek to kick start the 2020-21 season on a positive note when they travel to Stadio Ennio Tardini to take on a confident Parma outfit.
Gennaro Gattuso's men will be aware that a repeat of last season's seventh-placed finish is unacceptable and they need to start the new season off with a win.
However, Parma have been on a good run under new boss Fabio Liverani, winning three out of their four pre-season games so far, and should provide stiff competition for the side from Naples.
Gattuso's saving grace last season arrived in the form of the Coppa Italia trophy that his side picked up after besting Juventus in a penalty shootout.
Parma, on the other hand, can take heart from the fact that they finished 11th in the league, in just their second year after being promoted back to the top flight.
They also did the league double over Napoli last season, and that will give them some confidence going into this encounter.
Gattuso's men are in the Europa League this season thanks to their successful Coppa Italia conquest but will know that achieving automatic European qualification through a league finish is pivotal.
As always, the first league match of the season will provide an opportunity for both teams to lay down a marker for what is to come.
Parma vs Napoli Head-to-Head
The two clubs have played each other a total of 20 times so far with Napoli picking up 11 wins while Parma have seven.
They've also played out two draws.
Parma form guide: W W L W W
Napoli form guide: W W L W D
Parma vs Napoli Team News
Parma
While Parma are poised to enter the contest relatively injury-free, they won't have the services of Dejan Kulusevski after the 20-year-old Serie A Young Player of the Year joined Juventus in the transfer window.
In the 39 appearances he made last season, the player was directly responsible for 19 of Parma's goals.
With Kulusevski's departure in mind, Parma will expect the likes of Andreas Cornelius, Roberto Inglese and Gervinho to take on a greater goal-scoring load this season.
Injuries: Ricardo Gagliolo
Unavailable: Jasmin Kurtic
Napoli
Commanding centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly has been linked to a move away to Manchester City, but should be in line for a start against Parma.
A key addition will be that of Lille forward Victor Osimhen who has arrived, in theory, to be Arkadiusz Milik's replacement as the Polish forward awaits a move away to AS Roma.
Full-back Mario Rui is expected to be out for the game following knee surgery.
Injuries: Mario Rui, Kevin Malcuit
Parma vs Napoli Predicted Lineups
Parma: Sepe; Laurini, Alves, Gagliolo, Darmian, Grassi, Kurtic, Hernani, Inglese, Karamoh, Cornelius
Napoli: Ospina, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Hysaj, Fabian, Demme, Zielinski, Osimhen, Mertens, Insigne
Parma vs Napoli Prediction
Parma have conceded at least two goals in nine of their previous 11 Serie A encounters. Matches between Parma and Napoli, in particular, seem to be high-scoring affairs with their last four meetings producing an average of 2.5 goals per game.
That isn't likely to change this weekend when they square off. However, the quality of Napoli should give them the edge over Parma.
Prediction: Parma 1 - 3 Napoli