Well, what a start for Napoli! Last week, they kicked off their Scudetto defense in perfect fashion, and now they're welcoming Cagliari to the Stadio Maradona this Saturday.
The Serie A champions scored a goal in each half of their opening match, while their visitors from Sardinia held Fiorentina to a frustrating draw. Now, these two teams are back at it, just three months after their last memorable meeting in Naples.
Last weekend, Napoli looked every bit the champions they are, effortlessly handling newly-promoted Sassuolo. The goals came from a fan favorite and an established star who might soon be the face of the Maradona. The crucial first goal was a header from the Serie A MVP, Scott McTominay, who also scored against Cagliari in last season's final match. Then, a new face, Kevin De Bruyne, sealed the deal with a somewhat lucky free kick. They even hit the post twice, proving they're serious about defending their title much better than in 2023-24, when they finished a disappointing 10th.
Antonio Conte's squad seems to be made of tougher stuff, though, as they're now on a 13-game unbeaten streak in the league, stretching all the way back to February. That said, Napoli has only lost one of their last 28 Serie A matches against Cagliari and has won 19 of them, so it's tough to bet against them heading into the international break with all three points. Cagliari has also lost on their last three trips to Naples, so history is definitely not on their side.
Cagliari's streak of not winning their Serie A season opener has now reached 10 games after they managed a last-minute draw against Fiorentina last Sunday. It was former Napoli defender Sebastiano Luperto who kept up Cagliari's tradition of scoring late goals, finding the back of the net deep into second-half stoppage time.
Last season, the Sardinian side, under Davide Nicola, just barely avoided relegation on the second-to-last matchday. Since Nicola left for promoted Cremonese, the unproven Fabio Pisacane has taken over as coach. Just weeks after winning the Coppa Italia primavera with the youth team, his senior squad needed penalties to get past Virtus Entella in the Italian national cup earlier this month. Still, getting a point in their first league match should be a good confidence booster.
Napoli coach Antonio Conte has a full squad available, with the exception of last season's top scorer, Romelu Lukaku, who might be out for three months, and summer signing Miguel Gutierrez, who is recovering from ankle surgery. With Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone having left, and a potential replacement, Rasmus Hojlund, not yet on the team, Lorenzo Lucca will fill in for Lukaku, who got a serious thigh injury in Napoli's last friendly.
Ballon D'Or contender Scott McTominay hit double digits in Serie A goals for 2025 last week and will once again join De Bruyne, Frank Anguissa, and Stanislav Lobotka in a formidable midfield. Meanwhile, Cagliari just sold their top striker, Roberto Piccoli, to Fiorentina, and veteran Leonardo Pavoletti is still sidelined with an injury, so Sebastiano Esposito could be leading their attack. Gennaro Borrelli started up front against Fiorentina, while Semih Kilicsoy and Zito Luvumbo are other options for Fabio Pisacane. On defense, Yerry Mina is expected to partner with Sebastiano Luperto. The latter made his league debut for Napoli back in 2015, and his recent goal makes him the only defender to have scored in each of the last four Serie A seasons.
