Napoli were knocked out of the Coppa Italia in midweek following their 3-1 2nd leg defeat at Atalanta. Juventus held Inter Milan to a goalless draw in their Coppa Italia 2nd leg, which saw them progress through to the final 2-1 on aggregate.
Attention shifts back to Serie A this weekend as Napoli attempt to close the gap on Juventus to just 2pts and the visitors aim to keep the pressure on Inter and AC Milan above them.Juventus have a good record against Napoli and have won four of the pair’s last six encounters.
Both teams have scored and over 2.5 goals were produced in four of the duo’s last six head-to-heads, suggesting that Saturday’s clash will be action-packed.
Form favours Juventus this weekend, as the visitors have won five of their last six matches in all competitions. Napoli have lost three of their last six matches and both teams have scored and over 2.5 goals were produced in each of those defeats.
Juventus have only failed to score in one of their last six outings and have the league’s top goal scorer in their side, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has netted 16 so far.
Napoli will be without Konstantinos Manolas and Dries Mertens this weekend, both of whom are suffering from ankle injuries. Kalidou Koulibaly and Faouzi Ghoulam could also miss out as they continue to isolate, while full-back Elseid Hysaj picked up a knock in midweek and needs to be assessed.
The visitors only have one injury concern ahead of this weekend’s trip to Naples, Franco Israel who has a head injury.
Everything points towards a Juventus win this weekend. The hosts have history and form in their favour, not to mention the fact that they have outplayed Napoli in almost all departments this season.
Ronaldo and co claimed a 2-0 win over Napoli in January when the sides locked horns in the Super Cup but this time it looks like both teams will score and over 2.5 goals will be produced.