Thousands of Napoli fans crammed into the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona last Friday, waiting for the win that would see their beloved team secure the Serie A title. Still, a poor 1-1 draw ensured they waited a bit longer. However, with the title within their reach tonight in Udine, there are fans who would be perfectly happy to see their team lose – just so they could celebrate the long-awaited Scudetto back home.##NAJAVA_MECA_7226393##Udinese’s season is as good as over because they secured survival but have no chance of dramatically improving their league standing. Their fans might have something to say that because Italian media expect around 13,000 Napoli fans to occupy large portions of the Stadio Friuli tonight.Luciano Spalletti’s side most certainly won’t miss a chance to win if it presents itself in the northeast of Italy, however. The blues have a great record against Udinese recently – in the previous 13 head-to-head duels with the black-and-whites, Napoli have won 12 and drew once. Besides, the home team will be without Gerard Deulofeu, Beto, Isaac Success, Simone Pafundi and Festy Ebosele. Meanwhile, Napoli’s only absentee is left-back Mario Rui.The Neapolitans are certain to win the title – regardless of whether it’s made official tonight or not, and are ready to kick off the biggest celebration party Italy has ever seen. Many former aces returned to Naples because they wanted to attend the celebrations. For example, former Napoli goalscorer Dries Mertens flew in from Turkey, where he currently plays for Galatasaray, so he could taste the league-winning champagne in the streets under the Vesuvius.Dries Mertens in Naples and ready to party 🔵⚪️ 🔉🎶Is today the day? #Napoli pic.twitter.com/P3y4qeKLDf— They Think Kits All Over (@TheyThinkKits) May 4, 2023 The party hasn’t quite started yet, but you can already hear the music pumping and people coming in.SERIE A – MATCHDAY 33WednesdaySampdoria – Torino 0-2 (0-1)/Buongiorno 31, Pellegri 90+4/Salernitana – Fiorentina 3-3 (1-1)/Dia 10, 59, 81 – Gonzalez 36, Ikone 71, Biraghi 84/Juventus – Lecce 2-1 (2-1)/Paredes 15, Vlahovic 40 – Ceesay (p) 37/Atalanta – Spezia 3-2 (1-1)/De Roon 32, Zappacosta 48, Muriel 54 – Gyasu 18, Bourabia 64/Lazio – Sassuolo 2-0 (1-0)/Anderson 14, Balsic 90/Verona – Inter 0-6 (0-3)/Gaich 31 (og), Calkhanoglu 36, Dzeko 37, 61, Lautaro 55, 90+2/Monza – Roma 1-1 (1-1)/Caldirola 39 – El Shaarawy 24/Milan – Cremonese 1-1 (0-0)/Messias 90-3 – Okereke 77/Thursday21:45: (6.26) Udinese (4.10) Napoli (1.62)21:45: (2.80) Empoli (3.10) Bologna (2.90)***odds are subject to change***
