If it’s true that all roads lead to Rome, then Napoli’s path to a second Scudetto in three seasons certainly goes through the Eternal City.

The league leaders travel to the Italian capital to face Lazio on Saturday in urgent need to rediscover some impetus in the title race after draws against Roma and Udinese.

The prospect of a second trip to the Stadio Olimpico in two weeks would have been far more inviting had Napoli not conceded a 90th minute equaliser against Roma on February 2, spurning the chance to open a five-point gap over Inter Milan at the top of Serie A.

Instead, the Nerazzurri are just one point behind the Partenopei after beating Fiorentina on Monday night, 24 hours after Antonio Conte’s men could only draw against Udinese.

Napoli have been impressively consistent this season and have never failed to win in three consecutive fixtures, a streak which will face its sternest test yet against a resurgent Lazio.

Together with Atalanta, the Biancocelesti are the only team to win at the Maradona this season and arrive into the weekend arguably in better form than the league leaders.

Lazio have won three of their last four fixtures in Serie A after winning just once in the previous five, a run which included a 6-0 thrashing against Inter and a 2-0 defeat in the Derby della Capitale.

Winning a Scudetto in Naples is a feeling Lazio manager Marco Baroni knows well. A no-nonsense centre-back in his playing days, Baroni joined Napoli from Lecce in the summer of 1989 and immediately became a regular under Alberto Bigon, starting 31 of his 33 Serie A appearances as the Partenopei clinched their second league title.

Alongside Giancarlo Corradini, Ciro Ferrara and Giovanni Francini, Baroni was part of a formidable back four that conceded just 31 goals in 34 matches, the third-best defensive record in the league behind Sampdoria and AC Milan.

And while he may have earned a living preventing goals and only found the net four times in 77 appearances in all competitions for Napoli, the current Lazio manager is best remembered at the feet of Mount Vesuvius for the goals he did score. His goal against Bologna in December 1989 was the 3,000th in Napoli’s history.

Far more importantly, Baroni scored the only goal of the game as Napoli secured the title on the final day of the season, finishing just two points ahead of Milan. Their opponent on the day at the Stadio San Paolo? Why Lazio, of course.

With Juventus hosting Inter on Sunday night, there is a curious thread running through the two biggest fixtures in Serie A this weekend, with both Conte and Simone Inzaghi having to cheer on their former clubs in the title race.

Conte won eight Serie A titles with Juventus as a player and manager before departing Turin, while Inzaghi won the Scudetto with Lazio as a player in 2000 and the lifted the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana twice while in charge of the Biancocelesti.

And then there is Baroni, who 25 years ago helped Napoli stitch the Scudetto to their chest and who on Saturday could derail the Partenopei‘s bid to return to the top of Italian football.

Napoli have already lost to Lazio 3-1 at the Olimpico in the Coppa Italia earlier this season and arrive in Rome without the injured David Neres, who will be out for a month and is expected to miss the potential title decider against Inter at the Maradona on March 2.

In his first season in the Eternal City, Baroni has made an instant impact. Through to the Round of 16 of the Europa League after topping the league phase standing, the Biancocelesti are fourth in Serie A and shape up as a major hurdle for Napoli’s title quest.

The 61-year-old, however, remains wary of the threat posed by the Azzurri even when they’re not at full strength.

“Napoli are playing fantastic football this season,” he said.

“We’re under no illusions about the challenge ahead. We’re going to need a top-class performance to get a result against them.”

After all, he would know more than most what it takes to stop a Napoli side with the Scudetto in their sight.