ROME, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Serie A clash between Roma and Naopli will be played on Friday, October 18 -- 24 hours earlier than previously scheduled.

The decision has to be made as a protest has been planned to take place in Rome on Saturday, October 19, which would require a significant police presence.

So the publicly anticipated Serie A tie was re-scheduled to happen one day earlier in order to avoid collision with the possible protest.

Roma are top of the table after winning all seven of their league games so far, while the Azzurri are just two points adrift in joint second with Juventus.