Serie A Preview: Napoli vs Juventus – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

One of the most heavily anticipated fixtures in the Serie A calendar takes place at Stadio Diego Maradona on Saturday as pacesetters Napoli take on top-four hopefuls Juventus.

Napoli consolidated their Scudetto credentials with a morale-boosting 3-2 win against fellow title rivals Atalanta last weekend. Despite falling behind, courtesy of Mateo Retegui’s 14th Serie A goal this season, Antonio Conte’s side turned the game on its head before halftime.

Matteo Politano and Scott McTominay scored before the break, only for Ademola Lookman to draw Atalanta level. However, Romelu Lukaku shrugged off Giorgio Scalvini to head home a late winner, sealing Napoli’s sixth consecutive league win for the first time since February 2023.

In search of good omens, Napoli won the title that year. They aim to replicate that success this term after maintaining a three-point lead on runners-up Inter, albeit having played a game more. Juventus put Inter’s arch-rivals Milan to the sword last weekend in Turin.

Second-half blitz from Samuel Mbangula and Tim Weah inspired Thiago Motta’s ‘stalemate kings’ to a 2-0 home win, helping them close the gap on fourth-placed Lazio to only two points. It was supposed to be a turning point for Juventus, but they would soon ‘return to normal.’

Indeed, one of the most disappointing matches in midweek Champions League action saw the Bianconeri share the spoils with Club Brugge in a 0-0 draw at the Jan Breydel Stadium, inflicting substantial damage on their hopes of securing automatic Round-of-16 qualification.

Match Preview

Napoli

Conte couldn’t have imagined a better response from his side following Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s transfer to Paris Saint-Germain than beating high-flying Atalanta. More importantly, Napoli claimed an away win against high-profile opposition for the first time in a while ahead of the impending home return.

Without the distraction of European football, Napoli will rely on fresh legs to strengthen their impressive home league record this season (W8, L2). Indeed, they’ve picked up the division’s joint-high 24 points on home turf, largely thanks to an impregnable backline. No team has conceded fewer home goals than Napoli’s six.

Therefore, it’s barely surprising that only two of their 12 home outings this season have seen both teams on the scoresheet, highlighting the significance of drawing first blood. Napoli can take further confidence from beating Juventus ‘to one’ across their last three top-flight meetings in Naples.

Juventus

Would you be surprised to know that September’s reverse fixture finished 0-0? Draws have been a common theme for Juventus this season, with an incredible 13 of their 21 top-flight outings ending level. As such, being the only unbeaten Serie A team couldn’t count for less, especially when factoring in a substantial 13-point deficit on Napoli pre-round.

Another stalemate is well on the cards. Juventus have shared the spoils in seven of their last eight away games in all competitions (W1), with only one featuring over 2.5 goals. With that in mind, fans in attendance may not be in for a spectacle, even though their last three league encounters in Naples produced 3+ goals and both teams on the scoresheet.

On a rare positive note, Juventus haven’t lost a competitive match on the road since April 2024 against Lazio. Any hope of winning at this stadium for the first time since March 2019 and, in turn, halting a five-game losing H2H away streak will hinge on the visitors’ ability to rediscover their scoring instincts.

Juventus have netted one goal or fewer on seven of their nine road trips since the start of November.

Team News

Juan Jesus will likely join forces with Amir Rrahmani at the back as Napoli are still without star center-back Alessandro Buongiorno. Left-back Mathias Olivera is also out. As for winter signings Philip Billing and Luis Hasa, they should start on the bench.

On the other hand, long-term absentees Arkadiusz Milik, Juan Cabal, and Gleison Bremer remain unavailable for selection. Encouragingly for Motta, Francisco Conceicao and Kenan Yildiz will be at his disposal after overcoming minor fitness problems.

Napoli vs Juventus Potential Starting Line-ups

Napoli (4-2-3-1): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Jesus, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka; Politano, McTominay, Neres; Lukaku.

Napoli vs Juventus Prediction

Napoli’s recent home record against Juventus is too telling to be overlooked. Conte has instilled his winning mentality in the locker room, and if there’s a side capable of inflicting Juve’s first league defeat under Motta, it’s the Partenopei.