Napoli smashed Empoli 5-1 over the weekend and now they will look to keep their winning ways against an inconsistent Lazio. The last time these two teams met in September it was a 5-0 drubbing for Napoli over Lazio. 

Form 

The race for the Serie A title is neck and neck and it's a game to see who loses first. Both Napoli and Juventus are in top form in Serie A at the moment as they are just blowing by their opponents week in and week out. Napoli just smashed Empoli 5-1 over the weekend and Juventus responded with a 4-0 smashing of Chievo.

Napoli are still ahead by two points over the reigning champions but any mistake by Maurizio Sarri's men will most likely see Juventus take the lead in Serie A again. They have their big test in two weeks when they play the Old Lady and all eyes will be on that fixture as it will likely decide who has the momentum in the title going down the stretch. 

Although this game won't be as big as the game against Juve, every game now counts even more considering how tight the title race has been. 

Lazio find themselves on the outside of the European spots as they sit 8th in the Serie A table, four points off 6th place Milan. Lazio drew 0-0 with Udinese which was dissapointing for them especially after their 4-1 defeat of Chievo the week before. They will motivated to win this game especially after the five goal drubbing they suffered the last time at the hands of Napoli. They also have a Europa League Round of 32 match coming up as they face Galatasary and will look to keep the momentum in Europe as well as Italy. 

Lazio have been playing well in the opening month of the new year but they have to find some results against the top six clubs in Italy and playing Napoli will be a huge test for them. They are only a few points behind Milan for the 6th spot and could make things interesting down the stretch if they win a couple of games; but they are stretched due to injuries. 

Team News

Defenders Elseid Hysaj and Allan will both be out for this match due to yellow card accumulation. Other than that Napoli will have their regular squad available. 

Lazio will be without the likes of Lucas Biglia, Stefan Rady, Ricardo Kishna, Stefan de Vrij, Edson Braafheid, and Milan Bisevac due to injury. 

What They're Saying

“We are aiming to go forward and if we look too far towards the horizon then our chances of doing well diminish." said Sarri to Sky Sport Italia after Napoli's win over Empoli. 

“Juventus is clearly on another level,” Sarri later added. 

Prediction 

Napoli are riding high and even though Lazio have been playing inspired as of late, Gonzalo Higuain and the Napoli attack are too good. The three points should be won by Napoli as they have more quality about themselves on the pitch. 

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About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu