Napoli will hope to salvage some pride from their rotten season when they host Juventus in their Serie A clash on Sunday evening.
Indeed, Napoli’s title defence has been nothing short of woeful, as they are currently ninth in the table. More worryingly, against the traditional powerhouses of Italian football, they have failed to garner a single point from four league games against Inter Milan, AC Milan, or Juve this term.
That being said, Napoli had a morale-boosting 6-1 win over Sassuolo in midweek which will leave them feeling a bit better about themselves going into the game.
Juventus, in stark contrast, may be occupying second spot, but their form has nosedived since the end of January, with just one win mustered from their past five league outings.
A 12-point deficit to make up leaves Inter Milan in the driving seat in the title race, but Massimiliano Allegri will be looking to complete a league double over Napoli.
How will this one unfold at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona? I have piled in on the stats in my preview and unlocked a couple of betting tips for you to chew over ahead of kick-off.
New manager bounce to fade for Napoli
The effect of the new manager bounce shouldn’t be understated. Francesco Calzona, who has been appointed on an interim basis until the end of the season, presided over a creditable 1-1 draw in the Champions League against Barcelona in his first match in the dugout.
That was followed up with a 6-1 thumping over Sassulo, and fans will be keen to eviscerate the memories of the ill-fated Walter Mazzarri, who lasted just three months before he was given the axe after a poor run of results.
To underline Napoli’s fall from grace, there is a 17-point chasm between them and Juventus, the widest margin it has been since January 2020.
Although Napoli have lost only one of their past five league clashes with Juventus, the damning stat revealed earlier against the ‘Big Three’ is more than cause for concern.
Goals have been a problem for both sides this term, which suggests it could be a slow burner before exploding into life.
Juve, who are targeting a league double over Napoli for the first time since the 2018/19 campaign, are also targeting a clean sheet in both Serie A encounters since the 1994/95 campaign when Marcello Lippi was in charge.
Allegri, who recently carved out a slice of history by becoming the first coach in Serie A history since 1929/30 to reach the milestone of 1,000+ points, will look to add three more to his tally.
Anyway, for my first pick, I’m going with the Bianconeri to pocket the win, and I like the look of them to be ahead at half-time and full-time. Paddy Power has stumped up an intriguing price of 4/1 for this to be the case.
Dusan Vlahovic to produce another statement performance
While Juventus will have to keep close tabs on Victor Osimhen, at the other end of the pitch, Dusan Vlahovic can be destructive.
A brace in its last outing against Frosinone has left Vlahovic as the continental leader for most goals scored in Europe’s top five leagues since the start of 2024. Indeed, the Serbian has been in a rich vein of form, plundering home nine goals in his past seven appearances.
Against Frosinone, Vlahovic hit a double for the fourth time this term, putting him joint-first in that performance metric along with Inter’s Lautaro Martinez.
I have a predilection that Vlahovic could rattle in a double, and bet365 has tried to sway you with odds of 16/1.
Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/xlmedia/95b7b397-ec07-49be-9275-53f658255162.jpeg)
