Serie A: Juventus vs Napoli Preview Live
Preview
Juventus will aim to briefly reclaim the top spot in Serie A as they host Napoli at the Allianz Stadium on Friday evening at 7:45pm. Massimiliano Allegri’s team has been competing closely with current leaders Inter Milan, with only a two-point difference between the top two teams.
Despite having 33 points out of a possible 42, Juventus is still considered unlikely to win the title. However, Allegri’s team continues to apply pressure, and their pragmatic approach has been crucial in securing regular victories. In their recent match against Monza, Juventus was close to a 1-0 win before late drama led to a scare.
Despite Monza’s late equalizer, Juventus managed to secure a scruffy winner through Federico Gatti, resulting in a one-goal victory. This win marks their fifth victory by a one-goal margin in their last six games, along with a 1-1 draw against Inter. Playing on Friday provides Juventus with another opportunity to move to the top of the table before Inter’s match, as they did a week ago.
Napoli has suffered a significant loss to Inter in their previous game, with goals from Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella putting Inter in control before Marcus Thuram’s late strike sealed a 3-0 victory. This defeat was Napoli’s largest at home to Inter since 1977, leaving them without a win in their last six home games and trailing Inter by 11 points after 14 matches. Additionally, their loss to Inter pushed them out of the top four, indicating a challenging title defense, especially as they have already changed managers following Rudi Garcia’s dismissal.
Head-to-head
Juventus has struggled against Napoli in recent meetings, failing to win any of the last four encounters, drawing a game and losing three games, including a 1-0 defeat earlier this year.
Prediction
Juve has excelled in securing 1-0 victories under Allegri, and nearly achieved another one last weekend before some late excitement. Napoli appears to be a significantly changed team from the one that defeated Juventus earlier this year, and even with Osimhen back, they do not seem poised to secure a positive outcome in this match.
