Napoli begin their season with a fixture against Hellas Verona looking to make a positive start after the disappointment of missing out on the Serie A title last season.
Meanwhile, it has been a summer of change at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi with Gabriele Cioffi being brought in as the replacement for Igor Tudor, who was handed an opportunity at Marseille.
For a large part of last season, Napoli were contenders to end their 32-year wait to win the top flight, only to eventually finish seven points adrift of eventual champions AC Milan.
While another challenge will be the aim this time around, Luciano Spalletti must do it without the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens at his disposal.
Parting ways with three legendary names at the club sends Napoli into the unknown, and it is yet to be determined whether their replacements can help keep the club in the top four given the business conducted by Juventus and Roma.
Although Napoli enjoyed a productive pre-season, their best win came over La Liga newcomers Girona, and the opening weeks of the campaign could prove testing with trips to Fiorentina and Lazio to come by September 3.
Like the visitors, it has been all change at Verona this summer with Cioffi having been drafted in as the replacement for Tudor.
The Croatian’s move to Marseille was a reflection of recording 15 wins and just 11 defeats from 37 games in charge, but the change coming in July was far from ideal for I Gialloblu.
However, after impressing at Udinese on a caretaker basis, there is a feeling that Cioffi deserves to be in work for 2022-23, and the Verona hierarchy will feel confident that they can continue to challenge for a top-half finish.
In terms of transfers, there have been notable arrivals and departures, but the biggest exit is seemingly yet to come with last season’s top scorer Giovanni Simeone on the brink of signing for Napoli.
While that is far from ideal ahead of such a difficult opening fixture, Cioffi will hope that the enthusiasm of the new season will help lead his team to a positive start under his guidance.
Hellas Verona pre-season form:
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Napoli pre-season form:
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We say: Hellas Verona 1-2 Napoli
With some influential names missing from this Napoli squad, they are heading somewhat into the unknown this season. However, with Verona under new leadership, we feel that the visitors should have enough quality to edge what should prove to be a tight contest.