Napoli host Juventus in a critical mid-season fixture at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. With a win, Napoli would extend their lead over the Bianconeri to ten points. However, a loss would reduce the gap to four points. Meanwhile, a draw could allow Milan to reduce the gap to five points with a victory over Lecce.
SSC Napoli
Napoli responded to their first loss of the season with a comfortable victory over Sampdoria at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. After Matteo Politano’s missed penalty, Victor Osimhen opened the scoring to become the first player this season to reach double digit goals in Serie A. The Napoli striker also drew a red card on Tomas Rincon late in the first half, forcing the Blucerchiati to play the entire second half with ten men. An Eljif Elmas penalty kick late in the second half sealed the victory. With Milan and Inter both conceding late equalizers, Napoli nearly regained all the points lost midweek.
Juventus FC
Juventus continued their run of form, extending their win streak to 8 consecutive matches while not conceding a single goal in the process. Though not very ambitious going forward, Juventus have the best defensive record in the league with only 7 total goals conceded. Thus, this fixture pits the league leaders in goals scored against the league leaders in goals conceded.
Injuries/Suspensions
Juventus continue to deal with a number of injuries. Leonardo Bonucci remains out due to a torn adductor. Mattia De Sciglio has a hamstring injury while Juan Cuadrado will miss his third consecutive match due to knee problems. Meanwhile, attacker Kaio Jorge continues to recover from a patella rupture.
Both Paul Pogba and Dusan Vlahovic trained with Juventus’ Next Gen team this week, which suggests they are close to returning but not likely to play against Napoli.
Bremer is expected to return after missing the Udinese match due to muscle fatigue. Angel Di Maria is also expected to start after false reports that he picked up an injury against Udinese. Rather, he was removed early for precautionary reasons.
Meanwhile, Napoli have no major injuries in the squad. According to Spalletti, Kim Min-jae was removed from the Sampdoria match for precautionary reasons after his muscle tightened. The club has not provided any updates on the centre back’s condition. However, Kim is expected to be in the starting XI.
Probable Formations
Manager’s Comments
Luciano Spalletti:
“They duck in front of the penalty area to face the opponent. It’s a little easier defensively than pressing…They grant you one thing and you have to know how to interpret it in the right way. We have to be ready, their counterattacks and individual possibilities of deciding the match are multiple and countless. The first consideration will be to never lose balance on the way to manage and attack.”
Max Allegri:
“Tomorrow we have to play with great technique and great intensity. We are playing at the home of the best team in the championship because the standings say so. We must have the enthusiasm and the desire to play this match. If they have earned 4 points and lost only one match it is normal that they are the championship favourites.”
Previous Meetings
| January 6, 2022 | Juventus FC | 1-1 | SSC Napoli |
| September 11, 2021 | SSC Napoli | 2-1 | Juventus FC |
| April 7, 2021 | Juventus FC | 2-1 | SSC Napoli |
| February 13, 2021 | SSC Napoli | 1-0 | Juventus FC |
| January 20, 2021 (Supercoppa) | Juventus FC | 2-0 | SSC Napoli |
Match Officials
Head Official: Daniele Doveri
Assistants: Alessandro Costanzo and Matteo Passeri
Fourth Official: Daniele Chiffi
VAR: Maurizio Mariani and Marco Piccinini
let’s do this giuseppe!