The Coppa Italia Frecciarossa will once again feature two of the biggest names in southern Italian football: Napoli will take on Palermo for the 71st time in their history. The last time they faced each other was on 29 January 2017, when the Neapolitans drew 1-1 against Palermo at home. Dries Mertens equalised for the hosts after Ilija Nestorovski had given the Sicilians the lead.
The Azzurri are unbeaten in their last four games against the Rosanero in Serie A, but the Sicilians won their last showdown 2-1 in the Coppa Italia, back in June 1979.
Overall, Napoli have won 13 of their last 15 Coppa Italia matches against non-Serie A opponents. On the other two occasions when they triumph in 90 minutes Napoli came out victorious on penalties, the last of which occurrence was against Modena. The last time Napoli were knocked out by a lower division team was back in August 2003 when they were knocked out by Salernitana.
The last goal from open play in the competition was scored by Giovanni Simeone, who netted a brace in against Palermo in December 2016, when he playing for Genoa.
