Old foes Napoli and Juventus reconvene at Stadio Maradona on Sunday, as two Serie A giants fight it out for three points at Stadio Maradona.
While the struggling Scudetto-holders took some frustration out on Sassuolo in midweek, Juve's late victory last weekend finally halted a worrying winless streak.
Match preview
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After drawing each of their previous three games with the same 1-1 scoreline - versus Genoa, Barcelona and Cagliari - reigning Serie A champions Napoli responded to letting two points slip against the latter by putting managerless Sassuolo to the sword on Wednesday evening.
Francesco Calzona's second league match since replacing Walter Mazzarri as head coach saw two lynchpins of the Partenopei's title win return to the fore, as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia bagged a brace and Victor Osimhen went one better by helping himself to a hat-trick.
In doing so, Osimhen became only the third player in club history to reach double figures for four consecutive Serie A seasons - and the first since a certain Diego Maradona achieved such a feat in the 1980s.
That 6-1 stroll in Reggio Emilia could perhaps prove a turning point for Napoli, whose Scudetto defence has certainly not gone to plan - they sit eighth in the standings, almost 30 points adrift of their likely successors, Inter Milan.
Even securing European football for next season is an uphill task, with Calzona's side still some six points adrift of Italy's top six with only 12 rounds remaining.
Now aiming to post back-to-back league wins for the first time since September, Napoli have a proud recent record to build on when Juventus come to town: they have won all of the teams' last four meetings in Naples - in their long history, they have never beaten the Bianconeri five times in a row on home turf.
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Conversely, after a 1-0 victory in December's reverse fixture, Juve will be aiming to do the double over Napoli for the first time since 2018-19, when they were still top dogs in Italy.
The mighty have fallen, however, and following a brief flicker of hope earlier this season, a serious title challenge may not now materialise, as Inter have ruthlessly exploited the Bianconeri's series of slip-ups throughout February.
Allowing a 12-point gap to open up between themselves and the unstoppable league leaders, Juventus had picked up just two points from four matches ahead of last week's visit from faltering Frosinone, which almost resulted in another embarrassment for Max Allegri's men.
Though Dusan Vlahovic scored twice to take his tally to nine league goals in 2024 alone, Juve were being held 2-2 by the Serie A strugglers in Turin, with stoppage time almost over; however, Daniele Rugani's last-gasp winner snatched two extra points and ended his team's winless streak.
Renowned for their ability to grind out 1-0 wins under arch-pragmatist Allegri, Juventus have now conceded at least once in each of their last five league matches, which represents their longest streak without a clean sheet for almost two years.
As several absences are set to affect them on Sunday, and with Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia now showing signs of stirring into life, that will be a concern for fans of the Old Lady.
Team News
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Napoli coach Francesco Calzona should have all of his main men available this weekend, with only January signing Cyril Ngonge - who has already missed three matches with a muscle strain - and Swedish midfielder Jens Cajuste ruled out by injury.
Therefore, reigning Capocannoniere Victor Osimhen, who has scored five times in three games since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, leads the line up front.
Support will again be provided by Matteo Politano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the latter of whom was directly involved in three goals during his only previous meeting with Juventus in Naples, recording one goal and two assists in January 2023.
Meanwhile, Juve's main marksman Dusan Vlahovic has scored more times than anyone else across Europe's top five leagues since the start of 2024, and the Serbian striker will be partnered by either Federico Chiesa or Kenan Yildiz at Stadio Maradona.
Max Allegri faces a selection crisis in midfield, as injured duo Adrien Rabiot and Weston McKennie join banned pair Nicolo Fagioli and Paul Pogba on the sidelines; Southampton loanee Carlos Alcaraz could therefore make his first start and Fabio Miretti may also be promoted from the bench.
In better news for the Bianconeri's boss, Danilo has overcome an ankle problem and should line up in defence, alongside fellow Brazilian Bremer and either Federico Gatti or Daniele Rugani.
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Jesus, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Gatti, Bremer, Danilo; Cambiaso, Miretti, Locatelli, Alcaraz, Kostic; Chiesa, Vlahovic
We say: Napoli 1-1 Juventus
The last 11 league games between Napoli and Juventus have produced five wins for each side and one draw, and Serie A's Sunday-night kickoff could be just as evenly poised. Though the champions are still re-finding their rhythm, Juve will still find it tough to leave Naples with maximum points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
