Last Updated on April 11, 2026 8:04 pm by ZUWP Automation
Højlund sits third in Serie A’s scoring charts. Parma have won once in their last five. The gap in momentum could scarcely be wider.
Napoli arrive at the Stadio Ennio Tardini on Sunday carrying the kind of form that makes opponents dread the fixture list. Four wins from their last five matches, including a 1-0 home victory over AC Milan, tells its own story about where this side is heading. Parma, meanwhile, have managed a single win in that same stretch, drawing three and losing one. The contrast in trajectory is stark.
Match Details
- Fixture: Parma vs Napoli
- Venue: Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma
- Date: 12 April 2026
- Competition: Serie A 2025/26
Form: One Side Flying, the Other Treading Water
Napoli’s recent run is built on substance, not flattery. They beat AC Milan 1-0 at home, then followed it with wins over Lecce (2-1), Torino (2-1) and Hellas Verona (2-1 away). Their only blemish is a 2-1 defeat at Atalanta in late February. Four wins in five, with three of those coming on home soil, and a composure in tight matches that suggests a side with genuine belief in what they are doing.
Parma’s picture is altogether more uncomfortable. Their solitary win in the last five came away at AC Milan in February, a 1-0 result that now feels like an outlier. Since then: draws at Cagliari (1-1), Fiorentina (0-0) and Lazio (1-1), and a 4-1 thrashing away at Torino that will have hurt. One win, three draws, one heavy defeat. A side not losing consistently, but not winning either. Against a Napoli in this kind of form, that kind of passive accumulation of points will not be enough.
Key Players to Watch
Napoli
Rasmus Højlund is the headline act. Ten goals in 26 Serie A appearances this season places him third in the division’s scoring charts, behind only Mateo Retegui (25) and Lautaro Martínez (14). He averages 0.38 goals per match, takes 1.7 shots per game and has 23 shots on target from 45 total attempts. That conversion rate is not lucky; it reflects a striker who picks his moments. Parma will need to be disciplined in the extreme.
Scott McTominay is the engine behind much of what Napoli create. Seven goals, three assists, 65 shots and 25 on target across 24 matches. His average rating of 7.14 this season marks him as one of the more consistent performers in the division, and his 98 ball recoveries underline a relentlessness that stretches well beyond the attacking contribution. He arrives in Parma in the kind of form that demands attention from the first whistle.
Matteo Politano has created ten big chances this season, ranking 18th among all chance creators in Serie A. Thirty key passes and five assists from 27 appearances make him the architect Napoli lean on when the door is not opening through the middle. Against a Parma side that has conceded set-piece situations and struggled to maintain defensive shape for full matches, Politano’s delivery from wide areas represents a persistent threat.
Parma
Mateo Pellegrino is carrying the attacking burden almost entirely on his own. Eight goals in 29 appearances makes him Parma’s top scorer and places him 21st in the division’s charts. He has 62 shots, 21 on target, and 17 key passes, suggesting a player involved in build-up as well as finishing. With only four big chances created all season, however, the service around him is thin. If Napoli’s defence closes him down effectively, Parma have limited alternatives in the final third.
Alessandro Circati has been one of the more quietly reliable figures in Parma’s back line. His 1,128 total passes make him the side’s most active distributor, ranking 69th in Serie A for that metric. With 111 clearances, 29 tackles and 17 interceptions across 23 matches, he offers both defensive solidity and the ability to play out from deep. He will need to be at his best against Højlund and whatever Napoli throw at him from wide.
Season Stats Comparison
The individual rankings tell the story of the collective gap between these two sides. Napoli’s creators and scorers operate in a different tier to their Parma counterparts.
| Stat | Parma | Napoli |
|---|---|---|
| Top Scorer | Pellegrino – 8 goals (21st in Serie A) | Højlund – 10 goals (3rd in Serie A) |
| Top Assister | Pellegrino – 1 assist (294th) | Giovane – 6 assists (9th) |
| Top Chance Creator | Pellegrino – 4 big chances created (160th) | Politano – 10 big chances created (18th) |
| Top Passer | Circati – 1,128 passes (69th) | Beukema – 967 passes (116th) |
| Top Tackler | Delprato – 30 tackles (172nd) | McTominay – 26 tackles (218th) |
The chance creation gap is the most telling figure. Politano has created 10 big chances this season; Pellegrino, Parma’s best creator, has managed four. Giovane’s six assists rank 9th in the entire division. Parma’s reliance on their top scorer for both goals and creative output is a fragility that Napoli, with their depth of supply lines, are well placed to exploit.
Head to Head
The recent history between these sides offers little psychological comfort for either. In their last three meetings, Parma have not won once: Napoli took one victory, and two matches ended level. The most recent encounter, a 0-0 draw at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in January, suggests that Parma can make themselves difficult to beat. Whether they can do so again against a Napoli side that has since found considerably sharper form is the question Sunday poses.
Closing Paragraph
Napoli have the form, the individual quality and the momentum. Parma have the stubborn recent precedent of keeping things tight and the home pitch to lean on. The 0-0 in January showed Parma are not simply there to be swept aside, but that was a different Napoli, before this four-win streak took shape. The real question is not whether Napoli are the better side; the numbers make that clear. It is whether Parma can find something from their solitary win in five matches, or whether Sunday confirms the distance that currently exists between these two clubs in the table of form, if not yet in the final standings.
