The return of the Serie A on Thursday concludes with a captivating fixture as fifth-place Juventus prepare to host fourth-place Napoli at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. Here is a preview of the fixture between the two Serie A giants along with the predicted starting lineups.
With the Bianconeri coming off a fabulous 2-0 home victory over Cagliari prior to the break, Allegri hopes that his men can maintain their fine run of form. A victory over Napoli is crucial as Juventus hope to edge closer to a top-four spot within the league, keeping their hopes of a spot in next year’s Champions League alive.
On the other hand, Spaletti seeks a moment of inspiration and redemption as his men are keen to bounce back after a shocking 1-0 defeat to Spezia at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. The Italian tactician is desperate to secure all three points in order to keep Gli Azzurri within the race for the Serie A title.
Juventus vs Napoli Head-to-Head
The previous fixture in Semptember saw Napoli triumph over Juventus in an outrageous 2-1 victory in Naples. Despite Álvaro Morata obtaining the breakthrough for the Bianconeri after pouncing on a defensive error, Spaletti’s men have demonstrated a great deal of resilience as they managed to go against all the odds and overturn the fixture. Matteo Politano’s strike from a scarcely impossible angle and Kalidou Koulibaly’s last-minute tap-in has allowed Gli Azzurri to seal all three points and to extend there fabulous unbeaten run throughout the beginning of this year’s campaign.
Based on head-to-head statistics, the Old Lady seem to have the edge as they have managed to win 75 of the 159 league fixtures against Napoli, scoring 247 goals against the Italian giants. Although Napoli have only tallied 34 victories against the Bianconeri, accumulating 170 goals against Juventus, there is no reason to believe that Spaletti’s men can obtain two consecutive victories within the same calendar year against the black and white of Turin.
Juventus Form Preview
Despite their rough start to this year’s campaign, Juventus have managed to find an impressive run of form as Allegri’s men have secured 13 points within their previous five games (4W,1D,0L). As a result, the Bianconeri has managed to climb up the ranks and capture fifth place within the league as they possess a total of 38 points, making them only one point away from surpassing fourth-place Atalanta.
After Juventus’ devastating 1-0 defeat in Turin against Atalanta, Allegri has decided to drift away from the classic 4-4-2 formation and implemented the 4-3-3, a tactical setup that was more offensive. As a result, the Italian tactician’s adjustments have completely revitalized the Bianconeri.
Offensively, Juventus have improved tremendously as they became more dynamic with their runs and seemed far more clinical within the final third this season as they managed to average 1.8 goals per-game throughout their past five games. In addition, the Old Lady have managed to showcase brilliant defensive football as Allegri’s men have only conceded one goal within their previous five outings within the Serie A.
With an opportunity to potentially clinch a spot within the top four, Juventus are desperate to make amends against Napoli in order avoid missing out on Champions League football next season.
Player to Watch: Juan Cuadrado
Since the start of this year’s campaign, Juan Cuadrado has proven to arguably be the best full-back within the Serie A this season. The Colombian international has a played a tremendous role in Juventus’ build-up play as he managed to score four goals within 17 league appearances.
There is no doubt that Cuadrado will be key asset within this significant fixture as the 33 year-old full-back has been brilliant in defence for the Bianconeri through his immense amount of pace, his stunning ability to anticipate and break-up counter attacks, and his mesmerizing dribbling skills along the flanks.
Napoli Form Preview
Since their fairy-tale start to this year’s Serie A season, Spalletti’s men have not been able to remain consistent throughout the first half of the season. Their huge accumulation of injuries has been apparent as Spalletti’s men have dropped in form significantly. Throughout their past five games, Napoli have only managed to secure four points out of 15 available (1W,1D,3L).
With numerous starters held at bay due to injuries, Gli Azzuri have lacked finesse within the final third and stability in defence, causing them to suffer devastating defeats to the likes of Empoli and Spezia, as well as having them settle for a disappointing 2-2 draw against Sassuolo.
As it stands, Napoli currently have seven starters unavailable for this vital fixture. Hirving Lozano, Kevin Malcuit, Victor Osimhen, Alex Meret and Mario Rui have all tested positive for Covid. Moreover, Andre-Frank Anguissa, Koulibaly, and Adam Ounas are set to join their respective nations for the African Cup of Nations.
Therefore, Napoli are prepared to call up four Primavera players to the first team in order to fill up the void within their squad. Despite the disadvantage on paper, Spalletti hopes his men find a way to pull an unexpected result in order to obtain three fundamental points that would keep them on course within the race for the Scudetto.
Player to Watch: Piotr Zielinksi
Despite being one of the very few starters available for this fixture, Piotr Zielinksi has flourished under Spalletti this season. The Polish international has managed to score five goals and provide five assists for Gli Azzurri.
With many of Napoli’s stars absent, there is no doubt that Zielinksi will play a critical role through his excellent creativity, his fine-tuned dribbling in tight spaces, and his clinical long-rage goal-scoring ability.
Juventus vs Napoli Predicted Lineups
Juventus: (4-3-3) Wojciech Szczesny; Juan Cuadrado, Daniele Rugani, Matthijs De Ligt, Alex Sandro; Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Locatelli; Federico Bernardeschi, Dybala, Moise Kean; Alvaro Morata.
Napoli: (4-2-3-1) David Ospina; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Faouzi Ghoulam; Diego Demme, Stanislav Lobotka; Mattep Politano, Piotr Zielinski, Lorenzo Insigne; Dries Mertens