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The number of goals scored is always abundant in matches between Napoli and Palermo

Palermo and Napoli had three ties on San Paolo this season, with three goals scored each time

Palermo got crushed on San Siro last week, against the inspired Inter, but regardless of that defeat, the atmosphere is pretty good. Besides, it was only their second defeat in 14 rounds. Napoli coming to Barbera is Palermo's chance to get back to winning. Even though Napoli are an important opponent, we should point out that Iachini's team are great in front of their own fans. Palermo got six wins and two ties (against Udinese and Roma) in the last eight home matches.

Palermo's coach Iachini can't rely on the suspended defender Gonzalez, the injured defender Vitiello and the midfielder Maresca for the duel against Napoli. Palermo are expected to play the 3-5-2 formation with Dybala and Vazquez in the center offense, and it's still questionable who'll take the place in the center midfield. Barreto, Jajalo, Rigoni, Rispoli and Bolzoni are all competing for the spot.

Napoli already struggled against Palermo on San Paolo, in a crazy match with three goals scored on both sides. Scored goals are always abundant in their matches, so in the last six duels, five ended up with three or more goals scored. Benitez's players are feeling quite confident before the away match on Sicily, because in the last seven championship matches, they won six times, and also earned to play the Cup semifinal.

Benitez is hoping that Napoli will continue their winning streak against Palermo:

- We're hoping to continue this positive series, we'll try to win to continue on our way, not just to get to the record of five consecutive wins. I'll pick players I think are best adjusted to the conditions there. Iachini's team are very dangerous at home, and have great players in the offense. Dybala? He's a good player, but I don't talk about our opponents before the match.

The guests will have to do without the long absent backs Zuniga and Mesto, and the wing forwards Michu and Insigne at Sicily. New problem for Benitez is that the wing forward Mertens got suspended, so Hamšik, De Guzman and Callejon will play behind the center forward.

Considering minor injury problems Higuain's having, Zapata might lead Napoli's offense. After finishing the suspension, the young center back Koulibaly is back. He should play from the start, next to Raul Albiol as the center back. 

When Palermo and Napoli are playing, there's lots of goals scored. They played a crazy game on San Paolo this season, it ended with three goals scored on each side (five goals in the first half-time), and they also both scored in the previous matches against each other. Palermo's offense look great with Vazquez and Dybala, but their defense isn't really good. The inconvincing Inter scored three goals against them lately, and shook the goal post twice, and they themselves didn't score even though they sent a few dangerous balls to Handanović. Now, their defense should be even worse because Gonzalez got suspended and Munoz left to Sampdoria, so coach Iachini's got to experiment. On the other hand, Napoli's offense is one of the most potent in the Serie A, they're playing an offensive football where they always try to score more than their opponent. In the last six championship matches, they've got five with three or more goals, and their defense doesn't look too secure, even though nobody is concerned with that considering their last series of wins.