Monza: a look at our next opponents
Antonio Conte’s Napoli head to Monza in search of a crucial away win, hoping to temporarily catch league leaders Inter before they travel to Bologna on Sunday. The memories are still fresh from the last meeting at the U-Power Stadium on 7 April 2024. Back then, after Milan Djuric gave Monza the lead in the first half, Napoli turned the match on its head in just six second-half minutes with goals by Victor Osimhen, Matteo Politano and Piotr Zielinski. Andrea Colpani pulled one back for Monza, but Giacomo Raspadori restored the two-goal cushion just 32 seconds after coming off the bench in the 68th minute, sealing a 4–2 win for Francesco Calzona’s side. Much has changed since that Week 31 fixture last season. On one side, Napoli remain in the hunt for top spot. On the other, Alessandro Nesta’s Monza are fighting to stay up and will be out to show pride and keep survival hopes alive. Monza can rely on history and home advantage at the U-Power, which has often proved a tricky ground for top sides. In the last three Serie A seasons, Monza have gone unbeaten in 18 matches against teams who started the day in the top 10 — 11 of those at home, yielding five wins (including a 2–0 victory over Napoli on 14 May 2023) and six draws.
Monza: speed out wide and direct play
It will not be easy for Alessandro Nesta’s side to break down Napoli’s defence, the tightest in the league with just 25 goals conceded. Monza could pose a threat from wide areas, as they often push forward with their wing-backs to stretch the play and flood the opposition box. The visitors have delivered 416 open-play crosses this season (compared to Napoli’s 388), and 30 different Monza players have touched the ball at least once inside the opposition’s final third – a league-high shared with Milan and Como. In the build-up phase, Monza favour direct passes, which have directly led to four goals, one more than Napoli. Only five sides have scored more from this scenario (Como, Fiorentina, Cagliari, Juventus and Atalanta). Despite being the league’s joint-third lowest-scoring side in 2024/25 with 25 goals (alongside Venezia), Monza rank third for converting big chances: 43%, behind only Inter (45%) and Napoli, who top the charts with 48%.
Dany Mota: Nesta’s wild card
One of Nesta’s key weapons against Napoli will likely be Dany Mota. The Portuguese forward has been involved in 28% of Monza’s goals this season (seven in total: five goals and two assists), the highest contribution in the squad. A goal against Napoli would give him a new personal best for goals in a single Serie A season (currently level with his 2022/23 tally of five) and mark the first time he’s scored more than once against a single opponent in the league, having already netted against Napoli at the U-Power Stadium on 14 May 2023. In Monza’s 3-5-2 system, Gianluca Caprari is expected to partner Mota up front. Caprari has scored two of his three Serie A goals against Napoli in home games, one for Pescara in August 2016 and one for Parma in July 2020. While he has come off the bench in each of the last six league games, both his goals this season have come as a starter, with the latest coming at home to Cagliari in January. Monza will also aim to trouble Napoli with deliveries from wide areas. On the right, Samuele Birindelli – with two goals in 15 appearances this season (matching his tally from his previous 66 games in Serie A) – and on the left, Georgios Kyriakopoulos, one of just eight defenders to have hit 100 open-play crosses this campaign.
Article by the Opta editorial team
