Parma vs. Napoli 7/22/20 Serie A Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Parma is hosting Napoli at Ennio Tardini in round 35 in Italian Serie A.

Parma is in a terrible form, but there is one positive in Parma’s game, they are scoring goals consistently. Since the restart 9 games ago, Parma has scored at least 1 goal in every single one of their games, 15 in total, but it still wasn’t enough to compensate for Parma’s terrible defense. In their last Serie A game against Sampdoria at home, Parma was solid with 57% of all possession, 5 shots on goal, 4 corner kicks, and decent 84% of the correct passes. Parma was leading 2-0 at the half-time, but their defense didn’t show up in the second half, and Parma has conceded 3 goals in the second half, and in the end, Parma has lost this match 2-3. Overall, this season, Parma has scored solid 47 goals in 34 games, but they conceded 50, which is not that good. With 40 points, Parma is in 14th place, 11 points outside the relegation zone, and they are most likely to stay in Serie A, but just to be sure, Parma could use one more win until the end of the season. Cornelius is still Parma’s top goalscorer with 11 goals, while Gervinho and Kulusevski both added 7 goals. Scozzarella and Cornelius are both injured, while Alves and Kucka are still questionable. In my opinion, Parma will have 2 more opportunities this season to get a win, against Brescia and Lecce, but both of those games are on the road, which is not good for Parma.

Napoli has been solid since the restart, and despite being far from the Champions League spot, Napoli is happy because they have won Coppa Italia against Juventus a month ago. In Serie A, Napoli is in 6th place with 56 points, 2 points away from Roma in 5th, and the same as Milan in 7th place. Napoli has scored 55 goals so far this season, and they are among the best offensive teams in Serie A, but their defense could be better, Napoli has conceded 45 goals. Milik is Napoli’s top goalscorer with 11 goals, while Mertens added 9 goals. Callejon and Insigne both still have 7 assists. Llorente and Younes are injured, while Milik is suspended because of the yellow cards. In their most recent Serie A game against Udinese at home, Napoli was the better team with 68% of ball possession, massive 9 shots on goal, 2 corner kicks, and high 91% of the correct passes. The first half ended in a 1-1 draw, and just when we thought this will be the final score, Napoli has pulled the rabbit out of the hat and scored a winning goal in the 95th minute. Napoli has won this match 2-1. Napoli must stay in good shape because the Champions League is starting soon, and they will face Barcelona in the second leg of the Round of 16.

There is no siding with Parma in their current form. Both teams are scoring a solid amount of goals, but both teams are also conceding goals. I will pick something on goals here.