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The international break is finally done and dusted, and it's time for Napoli to get back to business. The season resumes with a trip to Verona to face off with the Mastini, Hellas Verona. It's a match that seems like an easy game on the surface, but there's good reason for Napoli to be concerned coming into this one.
Time to get back to work
The international break was not a good one for Napoli. Dries Mertens and Manolo Gabbiadini are both out, and will likely miss a couple of weeks each. Gonzalo Higuain is available, but not at 100%.
Still, they have a significant advantage in both form and talent. They should be able to win quite handily, even away from home. But given Napoli's history against the smaller teams in the league, even with Maurizio Sarri's improvements, it's easy to be incredibly nervous coming into this match.
Winless, but with a bogie
Hellas Verona are the one team in Serie A without a single win this season. They've scored just eight goals, have shipped nineteen, and have spent the season looking generally quite hapless. Easy win, right?
Well. Maybe not. You see, there's a problem for Napoli.
Luca Toni is back.
If you've been a Napoli fan for long, you probably read that name and cringed. He's been a thorn in Napoli's side for years, constantly costing them points at really bad times of the season. He's been injured for awhile, though, and leading up to the match it looked like he'd be a miss for this one as well. Sadly, that's not the case, and Napoli will have to deal with the headache he represents one more time.
sigh
Projected Lineups Sure To Be Wrong
Hellas Verona: Rafael; Pisano, Helander, Moras, Albertazzi; Checchin, Greco, Hallfredsson; Jankovic, Toni, Gomez
Napoli: Reina; Hysaj, Chiriches, Albiol, Ghoulam; Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik; Callejon, Higuain, Insigne
At A Glance
Hellas Verona: 19th; 0W 6D 6L; League Form: LDLLD
Napoli: 4th; 7W 4D 1L; League Form: WDWWW
Watch It
TV: be IN Sports (U.S. & Canada), Sky Calcio 1 (Italy), BT Sport Europe (U.K.)
Online: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S. & Canada), Sky Go Italia (Italy), BT Sport Live Streaming (U.K.)
Other live viewing options can be found here, and as always, we'll have a match thread live here for discussion of the game at hand. You can also follow along with us live on Twitter, and we'll have updates of the most important events on our Facebook page, which you should definitely like.