The Siren's Song - Serie A: Napoli vs. Udinese, 2015.11.08Fall Under the Spell of Napolihttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52658/tss_fav.png2015-11-08T21:02:27+01:00http://www.thesirenssong.com/rss/stream/94559772015-11-08T21:02:27+01:002015-11-08T21:02:27+01:00Serie A title is Higuain's objective at Napoli
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<figcaption>Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>With Napoli in the thick of the Scudetto hunt, their leading scorer has his sights set on winning the whole thing.</p> <p>Another win at home for <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/">Napoli</a> has the team keeping pace in the hunt for the Serie A title, just two points out of first place after 12 matches. One of the men most responsible for their strong standing, Gonzalo Higuain, wants to see Napoli do more than just compete for the <i>scudetto</i> this season, though -- he wants to see them win it.</p>
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<p>My objective is to win the title with Napoli, as that would make both me and the fans happy. We hope it’s the right year and must continue like this.</p>
<p align="right">-Source: <a target="new" href="http://www.football-italia.net/75521/higuain-i-want-title-napoli">Football Italia</a></p>
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<p>Currently tied atop the Serie A scoring charts with nine goals, Higuain has been vital to getting Napoli to where they are. If they're going to win the title, he's going to need a little more help -- but he's also going to have to keep up the sterling form he's been in the last six weeks or so.</p>
<p>Either way, right now it feels like Napoli actually have a real, genuine chance at winning the <i>scudetto</i>. That's an incredible feeling, and one we haven't really gotten yet in the two years that Higuain has been here, even with how excellent he's been. He's scored a staggering 64 goals since joining Napoli, but with little reward -- this season, though, <i>might </i>just see that frustration turn to elation.</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/2015/11/8/9692832/serie-a-title-higuain-objective-napoli-scudettoConor Dowley2015-11-08T20:27:03+01:002015-11-08T20:27:03+01:00Napoli 1 Udinese 0: The result is all that matters
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<figcaption>Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Napoli struggled at times against Udinese, but they still got the all-important win.</p> <p>It may not have been as pretty a match as fans were hoping for, but Napoli got the all important three points with a 1-0 win over Udinese. They weren't as efficient or effective in front of goal as we've grown used to seeing, but a second-half strike from Gonzalo Higuain was enough to get the job done, thanks in large part to an excellent defensive performance from Napoli.</p>
<p>Napoli dominated the opening spell of the match, but couldn't get a shot on target for their troubles. In fact, getting shots on frame would be a struggle all game long -- Napoli only got six shots away in the first half, and just one of those was on-target. They'd do better on that front in the second half, with four shots out of nine getting on frame, but getting clean chances for shots was a problem all match long thanks to an aggressive and effective pressing scheme from Udinese.</p>
<p>Still, Napoli easily held more possession, and their defense kept Udinese's attack at bay with almost contemptuous ease. <span>Kalidou Koulibaly</span> and Raul Albiol were a brick wall in central defense, and the duo of <span>Faouzi Ghoulam</span> and <span>Elseid Hysaj</span> kept the <i>zebrette </i>wingbacks on lockdown, keeping Udinese from getting any kind of effective help from wide areas. Fernandes and Emmanuel Badu were able to cause occasional problems through the middle, but after a slight change in positioning and defensive assignments for Jorginho and Allan, even that threat was largely nullified.</p>
<p>So even with Napoli's attack failing to impress, that combination of no real defensive pressure and the large edge in possession meant that a goal had to come eventually -- and thanks to Gonzalo Higuain, it did. Udinese had just subbed in Ivan Piris for Felipe early in the second half, making a defensive swap to get one of two booked defenders off the pitch so as to avoid risking losing a defender to a second yellow card. Napoli didn't give Udinese's back line any time to settle, launching a fierce attack that put pressure all over before Jorginho slipped Higuain through, and <a href="http://www.thesirenssong.com/videos-highlights-watch-napoli/2015/11/8/9692480/gonzalo-higuain-goal-napoli-udinese-200-career-serie-a-watch-video" target="_blank">his finish was perfectly placed</a> to the far post despite having two defenders on top of him.</p>
<p>That would prove to be the only goal of the match, as Udinese bunkered up after that, but it was the only goal they needed with the <i>zebrette</i> unable to score one of their own. With this result, Napoli have run off seven straight wins at home in all competitions, and are now on a 15-match unbeaten run, with their last loss coming in the season opener against Sassuolo. That's not bad at all.</p>
<p>Now it's time to see where Napoli land in the table after Fiorentina's match to cap off the evening -- a Fiorentina win would see Napoli stay in fourth -- and then head into the international break. The break is well-timed, as Napoli have some very tired legs in the side. Hopefully those players jetting off to their national teams are given light workloads over the next two weeks, because this team could use a rest.</p>
<p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/">Napoli</a></b>: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik; Callejon (El Kaddouri 78'), Higuain (Gabbiadini 83'), Insigne (Mertens 68')</p>
<p><i>Goals</i>: Higuain (53')</p>
<p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/udinese">Udinese</a></b>: Karnezis; Wague, Danilo, Felipe (Piris 52'); Widmer, Badu, Lodi, Iturra (Adnan 70'), Edenilson; Fernandes (Aguirre 57'); Thereau</p>
<p><i>Goals</i>: none</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/2015/11/8/9691840/napoli-vs-udinese-final-score-result-recap-serie-a-2015Conor Dowley2015-11-08T19:37:38+01:002015-11-08T19:37:38+01:00Higuain scores 200th club goal, gives Napoli lead
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<figcaption>Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>A lead and a milestone all in one kick. Not bad, Pipita.</p> <p>Gonzalo Higuain came into this match against <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/udinese">Udinese</a> wanting to help <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/">Napoli</a> win, but also chasing a huge personal milestone, wanting his 200th career club goal. In the second half, he got his goal, and gave Napoli a 1-0 lead in the process.</p>
<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="https://streamable.com/e/bz50?muted=1"></iframe></div>
<p align="right"><i><a target="new" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/3s15b2/higuain_goal_vs_udinese_10/">Credit: r/soccer user John_Shelby</a></i></p>
<p>Higuain had struggled to get that goal in the first half, getting four shots away, but only one on target -- and missing the target by about four total feet on his other three shots. Now he's got his milestone moment, though, and Napoli are on their way to what will hopefully end as another all-important win.</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/videos-highlights-watch-napoli/2015/11/8/9692480/gonzalo-higuain-goal-napoli-udinese-200-career-serie-a-watch-videoConor Dowley2015-11-08T18:13:04+01:002015-11-08T18:13:04+01:00Higuain aims for 200th career goal against Udinese
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<p>Higuain can reach a major milestone against Udinese.</p> <p>As <a href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Napoli</a> face <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/udinese" class="sbn-auto-link">Udinese</a> hoping to secure all three points and an important home win in Serie A, one of their players has another goal in mind. Specifically, scoring a goal: Gonzalo Higuain is on 199 career club goals, and if he strikes against Udinese, he'll reach 200.</p>
<p>That's not a mark that many strikers reach. It requires a lot of quality <i>and</i> consistency to his 200 career goals, two things that Higuain has in spades. He does go through cold streaks, to be sure, but most of the time he can score every other match or so, and when he gets hot he can go on incredible goalscoring runs.</p>
<p>Currently on 63 goals for Napoli, Higuain scored 122 times for Real Madrid and 14 for River Plate in Argentina. He's done some fantastic thing in his decade-plus in the game, and this milestone moment will be a huge feather in Higuain's cap.</p>
<p>Hopefully Higuain doesn't just settle for one goal if he does score. Celebrating the occasion with a hat trick seems appropriate, no?</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/latest-news-napoli/2015/11/8/9691808/gonzalo-higuain-hoping-for-200th-career-club-goal-against-udineseConor Dowley2015-11-08T17:46:20+01:002015-11-08T17:46:20+01:00Napoli vs. Udinese: Lineups, match chat, and wins
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<p>It's time to win another Serie A match.</p> <p>You know what to do, Napoli. Go shellack Udinese, and have fun doing it.</p>
<h4><b>Lineups</b></h4>
<p><b><a href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Napoli</a></b>: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik; Callejon, Higuain, Insigne</p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/udinese" class="sbn-auto-link">Udinese</a></b>: Karnezis; Wague, Danilo, Felipe; Widmer, Badu, Lodi, Iturra, Edenilson; Fernandes; Thereau</p>
<h4>Watch It</h4>
<p><b>TV</b>: beIN Sports (U.S. & Canada), Sky Calcio 2 (Italy), ESPN UK (U.K.), RAI International</p>
<p><b>Online</b>: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S. & Canada), Sky Go Italia (Italy)</p>
<p>Other live viewing options can be found <a target="_blank" href="http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/1665418/napoli-vs-udinese/">here</a>, and as always, you can discuss the match in the comments below (links to illegal streams and content will be removes and repeat offenders banned). You can also follow along with us live on <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/SirenSongNapoli">Twitter</a>, and we'll have updates of the most important events on our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/SirenSongNapoli">Facebook page</a>, which you should definitely like.</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/2015/11/8/9691704/napoli-udinese-serie-a-2015-team-news-start-time-live-online-streamingConor Dowley2015-11-08T05:21:37+01:002015-11-08T05:21:37+01:00Napoli vs. Udinese preview: Striping the zebras
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<figcaption>Allan's wearing the right shirt this time, promise. | Getty Images/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>It's time for Napoli to lash some new stripes into the zebrette.</p> <p>Napoli are coming off a huge win in the Europa League, but still have the bitter taste of last weekend's Serie A draw in the back of their mouths. Now with Udinese coming to the San Paolo, what better way will there to be to get rid of that sour flavor than to replace it with the sweet taste of a massive win?</p>
<h5>Back on the horse</h5>
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<font color="blue">Napoli</font> vs. Udinese:<span>November 8, 2015</span> <span>6 p.m. CET, 12 p.m. ET</span> <span>San Paolo</span><span>Naples, Italy</span>
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<p>Napoli got back on track after last weekend's disappointing draw by beating the stuffing out of FC Midtjylland. Now it's time to get back to their winning ways in the league, especially with Inter, Fiorentina, and Roma all facing tough tests on Sunday. If Napoli win and things break their way in other results, the <i>partenopei</i> could be in first come the end of the weekend. If nothing else, the odds favor them being able to pass at least one of the trio ahead of them in the table with a win.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Napoli come into this match healthy and ready to rock. They were able to rotated fairly significantly in Thursday's Europa League match, meaning that Maurizio Sarri should have his first-choice starting XI available without much concern of fatigue. Lorenzo Inisigne has made good after being benched for his blowup against Palermo, Allan and Faouzi Ghoulam got to rest their legs, Gonzalo Higuain got to take a break -- this team got the chance to take a much-needed breath to re-set and prepare for this match.</p>
<p>Now especially with the international break looming, it's time for Napoli to go all-out and get the three points. Let's have another huge win, shall we?</p>
<h5>Staying above the water</h5>
<p>Stefano Colantulo was brought in to help Udinese take a step forward in their development as a club an get back to the kind of form that once saw them be something of a regular in European competition. That hasn't so much happened, as injuries and poor form have had Udinese flirting with the relegation zone almost all season long, and with their decidedly mediocre form over the past few weeks, there's not much reason to think that they can upset the odds in this match.</p>
<p>They've been especially hurt in recent weeks by the hip injury that Napoli-owned forward Duvan Zapata suffered, which required surgery and will keep him out for some time. He had been the <i>zebrette'</i>s best and most productive forward so far this season, and they've struggled to put together an effective attack without him. Further complicating matters is that Antonio Di Natale is hurt for their trip to the San Paolo -- yet again, it seems like he never plays in his home town -- though Udinese do have Cyril Thereau, who has been a thorn in Napoli's side for a few years now.</p>
<h5>Projected Lineups Sure To Be Wrong</h5>
<p><b><a href="https://www.thesirenssong.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Napoli</a></b>: Reina; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Allan, Jorginho, Hamsik; Callejon, Higuain, Insigne</p>
<p><b><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/serie-a/teams/udinese" class="sbn-auto-link">Udinese</a></b>: Karnezis; Heurtaux, Danilo, Wague; Edenilson, Badu, Iturra, Lodi, Adnan; Fernandes; Thereau</p>
<h5>At A Glance</h5>
<p>Udinese: 14th; 3W 3D 5L; League Form: DLWDDW</p>
<p>Napoli: 4th; 6W 4D 1L; League Form: DWWWWW</p>
<h5>Watch It</h5>
<p><b>TV</b>: beIN Sports (U.S. & Canada), Sky Calcio 2 (Italy), ESPN UK (U.K.), RAI International</p>
<p><b>Online</b>: Fubo TV, beIN Sports Connect (U.S. & Canada), Sky Go Italia (Italy)</p>
<p>Other live viewing options can be found <a href="http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/1665418/napoli-vs-udinese/" target="_blank">here</a>, 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 <a href="https://twitter.com/SirenSongNapoli" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and we'll have updates of the most important events on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SirenSongNapoli" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, which you should definitely like.</p>
https://www.thesirenssong.com/2015/11/8/9690140/napoli-udinese-serie-a-match-preview-team-news-schedule-watch-onlineConor Dowley