Current Udinese director Pierpaolo Marino helped bring Diego Maradona to Napoli and then rebuild the club after bankruptcy, so seeing them on the verge of another Scudetto is ‘like meeting a grandson who has grown up.’
It kicks off at the Dacia Arena at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
The Partenopei only need a point to be sure of securing the third Serie A title in their history, the first in 33 years after winning in 1987 and 1990.
Curiously, current Udinese director Marino was on the Napoli staff during the build-up to the first Scudetto and helped bring Diego Armando Maradona to Naples.
He left in 1987 and then returned in 2004 when the club had just gone bankrupt and had to start again from Serie C, helping to effectively build a new club from scratch.
“I feel like someone who sowed the seas. With my ideas and help from the Coppola family, the Castelvolturno training centre was created. This for me is like meeting a grandson who has grown up,” Marino told DAZN.
“We were working in the desert at the time, but after I left in 2009, all the seeds that we sowed have borne fruit.”
He was asked for the player who has most impressed him in the current squad and picked Georgia international Kvicha Kvaratskhelia.
“Kvaratskhelia has been crucial, as he gave that step up in quality and excitement that was needed at the Stadio Maradona, as his technique and style are the elements that light up the DNA of the Neapolitan fans.”
There have been strong reports that Napoli are eager to sign Udinese midfielder Lazar Samardzic in the summer.
“We have a good rapport with Udinese and Cristiano Giuntoli has an eye for talent. The transfer window has not opened, but rumours do tell us they intend to make an approach for a couple of our players.”