One of the most heavily anticipated fixtures in the Serie A calendar pits Juventus and Napoli against each other at the Allianz Stadium. Saturday is a special occasion for the Turin faithful as their former player and manager, Antonio Conte, rolls into town as a foe.
Juventus returned to winning ways during the week after back-to-back scoreless league draws against Roma and Empoli. Another high-octane first-half performance from Thiago Motta’s side resulted in a 3-1 thumping of Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven in their curtain-raising Champions League fixture on Tuesday.
Despite dropping four points across their last two Serie A fixtures, Juventus will take the field in a buoyant mood as the only team in the Italian top flight yet to concede this season. The Bianconeri will rely on their defensive resilience to carry them to another victory as they bid to overhaul a one-point deficit on their upcoming opposition.
Conte’s start to life at Napoli was a disaster. After nearly bowing out of the Coppa Italia against second-tier Modena, the three-time Italian champions slumped to a horrendous 3-0 defeat at Hellas Verona on the opening Serie A weekend. However, the visitors have since hit the ground running under one of the most decorated Italian managers.
A run of three consecutive league triumphs, bookended by a 4-0 demolition of Cagliari last weekend, has propelled Napoli to second in the standings. They commence this round only one point adrift of surprising pacesetters Udinese, seeking only their second Serie A win on this ground since September 2018 (W1, D1, L4).
Match Preview
Juventus
Quick-fire starts have been a running theme during Motta’s early tenure. Juventus were 2-0 up at halftime in all three previous competitive wins under the ex-Bologna coach, highlighting the potential for a devastating match entry. But the Bianconeri cannot take anything for granted.
The recent history of this match-up prohibits lofty expectations, with Juventus trailing Napoli at the break in three of their last five encounters (W1, D1, L3). But as one of only two Serie A teams still unscathed in the first half this term, the hosts are confident of flipping the script.
Further inspiration stems from the air of invincibility surrounding the Allianz Stadium. Since an underwhelming 1-0 loss to Udinese in early February, Juventus haven’t lost any of their last 11 home outings across all competitions (W6, D5), recording seven clean sheets in that sequence.
Napoli
Juventus’ formidable home form will hardly faze high-flying Napoli. The visitors’ return to prominence has coincided with Romelu Lukaku’s arrival from Chelsea. The 31-year-old center-forward has tallied two goals and two assists in his first two league appearances against Parma and Cagliari.
Lukaku’s match-winning performance at the Unipol Domus fired Napoli to their third successive Serie A win for the first time since February 2023. Interestingly, a shutout in that match marked Napoli’s first away league triumph ‘to nil’ since November 2023 when they dispatched Salernitana.
It was also the last time the Partenopei won two straight Serie A games on the road. However, the wheels have since gone off, with Napoli racking up just three wins across their 15 subsequent top-flight travels (D5, L6). Such form doesn’t bode well.
Yet, Napoli can take heart from their recent results against Juventus. Except for a narrow 1-0 loss in this corresponding fixture in December 2023, they’ve emerged victorious from three of their last four Serie A clashes against the Turin powerhouse.
Team News
In addition to long-term absentee Paul Pogba, Juventus cannot call upon the services of injured backup striker Arkadiusz Milik. Francisco Conceicao is edging closer to recovering from a minor fitness issue. Yet, there’s a question mark over Federico Gatti’s availability after Motta took him off against PSV due to an injury scare.
As for Napoli, Mario Rui is the only missing player after being cast away from the first-team squad by Conte. After picking up another assist off the bench against Cagliari, David Neres could take Matteo Politano’s place in the starting XI and line up alongside Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Lukaku.
Juventus vs Napoli Potential Line-ups
Juventus (4-2-3-1): Michele Di Gregorio; Pierre Kalulu, Danilo, Gleison Bremer, Andrea Cambiaso; Manuel Locatelli, Douglas Luiz; Nicolas Gonzalez, Teun Koopmeiners, Kenan Yildiz; Dusan Vlahovic.
Napoli (3-4-2-1): Alex Meret; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Alessandro Buongiorno; Pasquale Mazzocchi, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Leonardo Spinazzola; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, David Neres; Romelu Lukaku.
Juventus vs Napoli Prediction
Goals have been at a premium in recent meetings between Juventus and Napoli. Two of the last three have yielded an identical 1-0 scoreline. Given the home side’s outstanding defensive start, another low-scoring contest is well on the cards.
There’s a feeling that whoever gets on the scoresheet first will claim three points. Juventus are favorites on paper, and we back them to live up to that tag by seeing off Napoli by a single-goal margin.
Prediction: Juventus to Win
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