There are a lot of unknowns surrounding the appointment of Raffaele Palladino - he led Fiorentina to a 6th-place finish in the 2024/25 season, securing a spot in the Conference League. However, he resigned from his role in 2025 in a surprising decision, but it wasn’t due to poor results. He will have a massive job on his hands reversing the fortunes of Atalanta, who have really struggled since the departure of Gian Piero Gasperini.

It’s not an easy debut fixture for Palladino, either. Napoli sit 4th in Serie A ju,st two points off Inter Milan at the top of the pile - already nine points above their weekend opponents. The Diego Armando Maradona Stadium has been a real fortress - Napoli have won five and drawn two of their seven matches there in all competitions this season. In fact, their last loss on home turf came back in December 2024 against Lazio.

The November international break came at a good time for Napoli, who found themselves in a rough patch of form. They failed to win any of their three matches leading up to the break, with this selection landing in all of those matches.

Napoli have not quite been as dominant in recent matches, and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic has had his fair share of work to do in between the sticks. The Serbian international has landed this selection in seven of his last nine starts in all competitions, including the last six successive games.

Atalanta might not be in their best shape, but they do still have plenty of attacking firepower to cause problems for the hosts. They have forced at least two saves from the opposing goalkeeper in six of their last eight matches in all competitions, and Alex Meret made four saves when these sides last met.

After his midweek heroics for his national side, helping Scotland secure a spot at the World Cup for the first time since 1998, Scott McTominay will have to shake off the hangover and return to domestic duties. The 24/25 Serie A MVP scored an incredible overhead kick against Denmark as his side secured a historic 4-2 win - he comes into this clash full of confidence.

McTominay has emerged as the primary threat for Napoli since Kevin De Bruyne picked up an injury - the Scottish international is averaging 2.34 shots per 90 in all competitions this season, and already has four goals to his name.

McTominay was on target against Atalanta when these sides last met in Bergamo - one shot was all he needed as the 28-year-old once again found the back of the net, helping his side to a 3-2 victory.

After seeing a summer move to Inter Milan fall through, Lookman was left out of the squad for several weeks by Ivan Juric, whom he clashed with on his return. Raffaele Palladino has openly expressed his plans to have Ademola Lookman as a key player - the Nigeria international should play with a lot more freedom under the new manager.

Despite his struggles this season, Lookman is still averaging 2.93 shots per 90 from his ten appearances in all competitions, landing this bet in all eight matches in which he has started. The 28-year-old bagged a brace on his last visit to Naples, while he also scored in the reverse fixture on home turf.

Lookman has every reason to look forward to this clash against Napoli, and Palladino will have to get the most out of him if his side are to have any chance of taking something from the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.