MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 04:53:20| >> :120:50344:50344:
[monks data]
Juventus logo
Serie A
May 23, 2015 at 5pm UK
 
Napoli logo

3-1

Pereyra (13'), Sturaro (77'), Pepe (93' pen.)
FT(HT: 1-0)
Lopez (50')

Preview: Juventus vs. Napoli

Sports Mole looks ahead to this weekend's Serie A match between Juventus and Napoli in Turin.

Two of Italian football's biggest clubs will meet on Saturday evening when Juventus take on Napoli in Turin.

The Bianconeri have wrapped up a league and cup double and can extend their unbeaten home run to a second straight season, but their opponents will be on the hunt for three vital points as they bid to reach the Champions League.



Juventus

AC Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri reacts during the Serie A match between AC Milan and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on November 2, 2013© Getty Images

This season just keeps getting better with each passing week for Juventus and they are now on the verge of landing a historic treble for the first time in their 117-year history.

Having already won the Serie A title earlier this month, they added the Coppa Italia to their growing list of honours by claiming a 2-1 victory over Lazio on Wednesday evening.

They got off to the worst possible start by conceding inside of four minutes, but Giorgio Chiellini flicked in a quick equaliser and Alessandro Matri completed the comeback with an extra-time winner to seal a domestic double and their first victory in the cup for 20 years.

Their next target is to win the Champions League final against Barcelona in two weeks, and if the La Liga giants manage to win the Copa del Rey final next weekend, then it will be a straight shootout to decide which club lands a treble.

Massimiliano Allegri's side still have two games left until that European clash and their first order of business will be to finish their league campaign with an unbeaten home record for the second straight season.

Their last defeat in Serie A in front of their own supporters came in a 2-1 reverse against Sampdoria over two years ago and they have gone 46 games since without a loss. They actually won every single home game in the league last time around and have dropped points just three times this season.

The Bianconeri will be expected to rest a number of players this weekend following their cup success, but even without some of their key squad members, they are still a formidable foe and last weekend they were victorious against Inter Milan with a second-string lineup.

Recent form in Serie A: WLWWDW
Recent form (all competitions): WWDDWW



Napoli

Napoli coach Rafael Benitez prior to kick-off during the Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund on September 18, 2013© AFP

While everything has been going perfectly for Juventus, the exact opposite can be said of Napoli, who have seen their season crumble around them in the past month.

They seemed to have recovered from a bad run of form in March, by claiming three wins on the spin that saw them edge closer to the top three. However, a damaging 4-2 defeat against Empoli three weeks ago stopped them in their tracks.

The Azzurri bounced back a few days later with a 3-0 win over AC Milan, but their inconsistency came back to haunt them in their next match, with already-relegated Parma holding them to a 2-2 draw.

It seemed as if they would falter again on Monday evening after falling behind early on against Cesena, but they fought back to earn a 3-2 victory that has moved them to within three points of third-placed Lazio. That result means that they would move level with Lazio with a win against Juventus and crucially ahead of the Rome club based on their head-to-head record.

Anything other than a win this weekend would seriously damage their Champions League chances and would leave them hoping for a Roma victory in the Derby della Capitale next Monday. That would ensure that they can still pip Lazio to third spot when they meet on the final day of the season.

It is not just in the league where they have been poor, as they were dumped out of the Europa League by underdogs Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk last Thursday at the semi-final stage.

Their cause has not been helped by the constant speculation surrounding manager Rafael Benitez and the Spaniard has recently been linked with a move to Real Madrid when his contract expires in the summer. Gonzalo Higuain has also been tipped to leave Naples, so the club could be in for a difficult time ahead trying to convince them to stay if they fail to land a Champions League spot.

Recent form in Serie A: WWLWDW
Recent form (all competitions): LWDDLW



Team News

Lazio's defender from Romania Stefan Radu (C) scores during the Italian Tim Cup final match (Coppa Italia) between Juventus and Lazio on May 20, 2015© Getty Images

Juventus will have to make do without Stephan Lichtsteiner, who sits the game out with a ban.

He is expected to be replaced by Simone Padoin at right-back, while there could be a number of other changes to the team that started the cup final.

Carlos Tevez, Andrea Pirlo and Chiellini could all be rested, but Claudio Marchisio and Alvaro Morata are likely to start after being banned in midweek.

Meanwhile, Kalidou Koulibaly is suspended for Napoli, so Miguel Britos should come into the defence to partner Raul Albiol.

Higuain will come back into the starting lineup and Dries Mertens could keep his spot in the attack after scoring twice against Cesena, but Lorenzo Insigne may be chosen ahead of him.

Juventus possible starting lineup:
Buffon, Padoin, Barzagli, Bonucci, De Ceglie, Sturaro, Marchisio, Vidal, Pereyra, Morata, Matri

Napoli possible starting lineup:
Andujar, Maggio, Albiol, Britos, Ghoulam, Lopez, Inler, Callejon, Hamsik, Mertens, Higuain



Head To Head

In this season's reverse fixture Juventus came out on top with a 3-1 victory over Napoli at the ​Stadio San Paolo.

However, Napoli prevailed in the final of this season's Super Cup by beating the Old Lady in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw in Doha.

The Azzurri don't have the worst record against their opponents, but they have not beaten Juventus away from home in Serie A since October 2009.


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Juventus 1-1 Napoli

Juventus will be regarded as the favourites heading into the match, but it remains to be seen what team Allegri will play just days after their cup win. Napoli are sure to be at full strength and know that anything other than a win could spell the end of their Champions League hopes. It is sure to be a competitive and hard-fought game in Turin and we believe that it will end all square.



ID:224121: cacheID:224121:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:12261:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Juventus' defender Giorgio Chiellini (R) celebrates after scoring during the Italian Tim Cup final match (Coppa Italia) between Juventus and Lazio on May 20, 2015
Read Next:
Live Commentary: Juventus 2-1 Lazio - as it happened
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
10am
Munar
Borges
10am
Navone
Popyrin
10am
Vukic
Daniel
10am
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
10am
Davis
Sherif
10am
Putintseva
Yuan
10am
Stephens
Trevisan
10am
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
11.30am
Altmaier
Landaluce
11.30am
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
11.30am
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
11.30am
Arango
Anisimova
11.30am
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
11.30am
Zhang
Rogers
12pm
Osaka
Minnen
12pm
Vekic
Siegemund
1pm
Darderi
Monfils
1pm
Karatsev
Marozsan
1pm
Van Assche
Bergs
1pm
Linette
Cocciaretto
1pm
Wang
Tomova
1pm
Wang
Dolehide
1.30pm
Dart
Bucsa
1.30pm
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2.30pm
Bronzetti
Gracheva
2.30pm
Frech
Cristian
2.30pm
Hibino
Krueger
3pm
Coric
Hassan
3pm
Kokkinakis
Draper
3pm
Nakashima
Bagnis
3pm
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
4pm
Baptiste
Saville
4pm
Bejlek
Blinkova
4pm
Errani
Wozniacki
4pm
Montgomery
Avanesyan
4.30pm
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
4.30pm
Burel
Danilovic
5pm
Moutet
Shang
5.30pm
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
6pm
Andreeva
Townsend
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Inter Milan33275179186186
2AC Milan33216664392569
3Juventus331810547262164
4Bologna331711548262262
5Roma32167957381955
6Atalanta BCAtalanta321661059372254
7Lazio33164134235752
8Napoli331310105041949
9Fiorentina32138114536947
10Torino33111393129246
11Monza331110123543-843
12Genoa33912123540-539
13Lecce33811143048-1835
14CagliariCagliari33711153656-2032
15Hellas VeronaHellas Verona33710163144-1331
16Empoli3387182648-2231
17Udinese32416123048-1828
18FrosinoneFrosinone33610174063-2328
19SassuoloSassuolo3368193965-2626
20Salernitana3329222670-4415


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!