Napoli vs SPAL Preview: Where to Watch, Live Stream, Recent Form & Team News

Napoli will look to cut the lead on Serie A leaders Juventus to five points when they take on SPAL on Saturday. A slow start aside, Carlo Ancelotti's have done

Napoli will look to cut the lead on Serie A leaders Juventus to five points when they take on SPAL on Saturday.

A slow start aside, Carlo Ancelotti's have done well in Italy's top flight so far this season, winning 12 of their 16 league matches.

Enrico Locci/GettyImages

SPAL have been in rotten form recently as they look to get clear of the bottom three, with Leonardo Simplici's side winless in their last eight games in all competitions.

Check out 90min's preview of the game below.

Where to Watch

When Is Kick Off?	Saturday 22 December
What Time Is Kick Off?	14:00 (BST)
Where Is it Played?	Stadio San Paolo
TV Channel/Live Stream?	BT Sport Highlights
Referee?	Federico La Penna

Team News

Arkadiusz Milik scored against Cagliari but Ancelotti may opt to keep him in reserve for the later stages of the game. Vlad Chiriches will definitely be absent, while there is also concern over the fitness of Mario Rui.

Simone Missiroli is struggling with a muscle problem but may still be available for SPAL. The visitors have Mattia Valoti available should the former Sassuolo midfielder fail to recover in time.

Predicted Lineups

Napoli	Ospina; Malcuit, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Callejon, Allan, Hamsik, Ruiz; Insigne; Mertens.
SPAL	Gomis; Felipe, Vicari, Cionek; Lazzari, Missiroli, Kurtic, Schiattarella, Fares; Petagna, Antenucci.

Head to Head Record

Napoli hold the advantage in the head to head stakes, winning 16 of the 30 games played between the two sides.

They triumphed 3-2 in Ferrara last year before winning 1-0 at home thanks to Allan's sixth minute effort.

Recent Form

Their disappointing 1-0 loss to Liverpool aside, which cost them qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League, the Azzurri have been in fine nick.

Milik netted the winner in the slender 1-0 victory over Cagliari last time out, while they beat Frosinone and Atalanta before their defeat to Liverpool.

SPAL's last victory came in October, when they won 2-0 at Roma. Since then, the Biancazzurri have had a tough time. They've lost four of their last eight, drawing the other fixtures, with their latest fixture against Genoa ending goalless.

Here's how each team has performed in their last five fixtures:

Napoli	SPAL
Cagliari 0-1 Napoli (16/12)	SPAL 0-0 Chievo (16/12)
Liverpool 1-0 Napoli (11/12)	Genoa 1-1 SPAL (9/12)
Napoli 4-0 Frosinone (8/12)	Sampdoria 2-1 SPAL (4/12)
Atalanta 1-2 Napoli (3/12)	SPAL 2-2 Empoli (1/12)
Napoli 3-1 Red Star Belgrade (28/11)	Juventus 2-0 SPAL (24/11)

Prediction

On paper, this fixture should not provide too many issues for Napoli. The hosts will be eager to cut the gap on Serie A leaders Juventus, who play Roma on Saturday evening.

They may not go goal crazy, as their recent fixtures against Liverpool and Cagliari indicate, but Napoli should be too strong for SPAL.

Prediction: Napoli 2-0 SPAL