Napoli – Udinese: Preview and Highest Odds

David Ospina was back on the bench last time out – following a spell on the sidelines with a thigh strain – the former Arsenal stopper is now expected to make his return to Napoli’s starting XI, with Alex Meret therefore dropping out. Central defenders Kalidou Koulibaly (thigh) and Nikola Maksimovic (COVID-19) were ruled out of action at the weekend, though, and remain unlikely to return to the squad for Tuesday’s game. Should they fail to recover in time, Kostas Manolas and Amir Rrahmani will form the pairing at the heart of the hosts’ defence. While Hirving Lozano hopes that his goal on Saturday will be enough to secure a return to the side ahead of Matteo Politano, in-form Victor Osimhen should retain his place despite the claims of club record scorer Dries Mertens. Udinese saw young forward Jayden Braaf added to their list of attacking absentees last week, due to a knee sprain, with the Dutch starlet joining Ignacio Pussetto, Gerard Deulofeu and Ilija Nestorovski in missing out on the rest of the season. With few other options available – though Fernando Forestieri waits in the wings – either Stefano Okaka or Fernando Llorente (who remained on the bench due to a back issue against Bologna) should start as the Bianconeri’s lone striker in Naples. Support, as ever, will come from Argentinian pair Roberto Pereyra and nine-goal skipper Rodrigo De Paul.