Juventus FC will host SSC Napoli in the Serie A 15th round match at the Allianz Stadium. The fixture will take place on Saturday, December 9, beginning at 01:15 IST.
Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.
Juventus News & Current Form:
The Italian calendar set a good test for FC Inter Milan, Juventus and Napoli. In three rounds, the grands have had a mini-tournament, playing each other twice. More precisely, the last match still remains – Juventus will take on Napoli.
The Milanese got the toughest test: they played two games in a row – first the trip to Turin ended in peace (1:1), and then traveled to Naples. For Napoli it also turns out to be two top matches in a row – first at home against Inter, and then traveling to Juventus.
The Old Lady, however, had an advantage – they had a pause between games and an easy opponent. Last Friday, the team outlasted AC Monza away and had time to bounce back from that dramatic match. Juventus opened the scoring already in the 12th minute – Adrien Rabiot scored from a corner kick.
Then the Black and Whites played in their usual manner, taking no risks and securing their own goal as much as possible. It seemed that the meeting would end with a score of 1:0, but at 90+2 the ball suddenly flew into the gate of Wojciech Szczesny after a long-range shot from Valentin Carboni.
But two minutes later, Torino rushed to score and took the lead again, as Federico Gatti, who had joined the attack, scored on 90+4 minutes.
Ahead of the last meeting with Monza, Massimiliano Allegri said that being just two points behind Inter is a source of pride and satisfaction, but the team must be alert. He emphasized that it is important to constantly improve in all aspects of the game and to be in the best morale before each match.
The best coach of November in Serie A championship – Massimiliano Allegri in charge of Juventus FC
Interestingly, earlier there was information that Allegri may leave the Turin club at the end of the season. It was reported that the coach was dissatisfied with the changes in the team after the departure of Andrea Agnelli, as well as rumors about the appointment of Antonio Conte to his position.
As a result, Allegri was voted the best Serie A coach in November. Luigi De Cervo, the general manager of the championship, said that the mentor is one of the greatest masters of Italian football. He emphasized that the extraordinary experience and strong character allow the specialist to best manage a team that had to compensate for serious losses.
Allegri has a hard time, the pressure on the coach is enormous. In every match, you can see by his behavior how much the Juventus coach is worried about what is happening on the pitch. He has not been calm before, but now his emotions are running high.
Pressure from the management, pressure from the fans who want their team to get back on the winning track, as it was in the past decade. Football-related issues constantly get in the way. Recently, the management has withdrawn a lawsuit for fabricating Calciopoli.
Despite the pressure, in 14 rounds in the Italian championship Juventus lost only to US Sassuolo Calcio (2:4) on the road. It also drew with Bologna FC (1:1), Atalanta BC (0:0) and the leader of the table Inter (1:1). The Signora settled on the second line in the standings as of now.
And this is despite the fact that before the start of the season the club was not among the main contenders for the title – Massimiliano Allegri’s team had a very modest transfer campaign in the summer, while the rivals strengthened seriously. In the course of the championship, the club lost Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli, so the situation has become critical. At the same time, the Old Lady regularly takes points and is chasing Inter.
Juventus are the only team in the Italian championship, which has no defeats on their field. It is also unrivaled in the number of points (2.43) at home. And their main weapon is a strong defense (xGA= 0.66). But this in no way hurts the attack, which is among the top three (xG= 1.62).
As for injuries, one of the pillars of the defense Danilo will not play and Manuel Locatelli is not fully recovered from his injury.
Napoli News & Current Form:
After winning the championship last year, the fans were so happy that no one thought about defending the title. It was obvious that it would be very difficult to win the tournament for the second time in a row. The team was abandoned by the head coach, which in itself was an alarming factor. It is unlikely that a specialist who believes that success is again possible will leave the club.
But Luciano Spalletti had tense relations with the president Aurelio De Laurentiis, who had to look for a new coach. It was French specialist Rudi Garcia, who failed to work with the team even until the end of the first round.
Once again, the contract was terminated, management were looking for a new coach, and finally Walter Mazzarri was appointed, with whom they signed a contract until the end of the season.
The 59-year-old specialist has previously worked in Napoli – from 2009 to 2013. Then he lifted the team from the bottom of the standings to the leaders, and also led it to victory in the Coppa Italia.
Recently appointed gaffer of Napoli – Walter Mazzarri, who had previously worked with Italian club already
But only after his move to Inter, the career of Mazzarri, who called himself a unique coach, went downhill. The return to Naples has also been unsuccessful so far. The team sits on the fifth line in the standings of the Italian championship, nine points behind the Old Lady.
In the last three matches the Blues have not without luck beaten unstable Atalanta (2:1), lost to Inter (0:3), and also lost to Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Champions League (2:4).
Interestingly, the Whites approached the meeting with less tournament motivation than their opponents. Unlike the Neapolitans, the Spaniards had already guaranteed themselves a playoff spot. Nevertheless, Madrid were better in all statistical parameters and confidently took the game to victory.
The Italian club still continues to struggle to get out of the group. In five games they won twice, drew once and lost twice, so they go second in the group with Real, SC Braga and FC Union Berlin.
A few days after the match with Juventus, Napoli will face a crucial Champions League group stage match. The Blues will host Portuguese Braga on their home field and will only qualify for the playoffs if they don’t lose.
On the positive side, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (4+3) is in a good shape, as well as the best sniper Victor Osimhen (6+1) has returned to the team. In the last round against Inter (0:3) he played all 90 minutes on the pitch for the first time since September. This gives the Azzurri an opportunity to play more risky and try to reduce the gap of 11 points from the leader, otherwise the Scudetto this season can be forgotten.
In the upcoming match Napoli will not be helped by Mario Rui and Mathias Olivera, which means that the left flank of the defense is going to be exposed.
Juventus form guide: W-W-W-W-D-W
Napoli form guide: W-D-L-W-L-L
Juventus vs Napoli Head-To-Head Record:
| Juventus | Draw | Napoli |
| 19 | 10 | 15 |
- September 11, 2021: Napoli 2 – 1 Juventus (Serie A);
- January 6, 2022: Juventus 1 – 1 Napoli (Serie A);
- January 13, 2023: Napoli 5 – 1 Juventus (Serie A);
- April 23, 2023: Juventus 0 – 1 Napoli (Serie A).
Juventus vs Napoli Predicted XI:
Juventus’s possible starting lineup (3-5-2): Szczęsny; Gatti, Bremer, Rugani; Cambiaso, McKennie, Nicolussi Caviglia, Rabiot, Kostic; Chiesa, Vlahovic.
Napoli’s possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Meret; Rrahmani, Ostigard, Natan; Politano, Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Raspadori, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.
Statistical preview of the match Juventus vs Napoli:
- Juventus’ First XI average age is 27.6 years, while Napoli’s First XI average age is 26.7 years.
- The total value of the Old Lady squad is 421 mln euros, while Napoli’s total is 587 mln euros.
- Daniele Orsato has been appointed as the center referee. The referee has already served seventeen games this season, showing an average of 4.71 Yellow Cards and also whistles 22.65 fouls per game.
- The home side averaged 6.14 corner kicks, while allowing their opponents only 2.86 corners. Napoli are serving 5.71 corner kicks away, while their opponents are serving 4.71.
- Juventus players receive 2.57 yellow cards in home matches and Napoli players receive exactly the same number of yellow cards on average when playing away.
- At the end of the last season Juventus scored 62 points and took 7th place, with 10 points taken off the team
- In the current season, 5 of Old Lady’s 22 goals are scored by Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic.
- No more than 2 goals have been scored in 7 of Juventus’ 9 previous Serie A meetings.
- Juventus have defeated their opponents in all home games in the current league.
- Juventus have beaten Napoli in 9 of their last 12 Serie A home games (1 draw, 2 losses).
- Napoli’s unbeaten away stretch in the league includes 8 meetings (5 wins, 3 draws).
- At least 3 goals have been scored in 6 of Napoli’s last 8 away games in Serie A.
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What has been said before the match:
The manager of Old Lady Massimiliano Allegri about the upcoming six-pointer clash:
“This is a six-pointer. We have five games left before we reach the midway point of the season and they’ll all be difficult. Our target is to finish the first half of the campaign with more points than we did last term, when we had 38. We already have 33 and we hope to achieve our target but we mustn’t take it for granted.”
“Tomorrow will be very tough. Napoli stayed in the game against Inter until the second goal and we’ve only beaten them once in our last seven meetings – that’s something we need to put right. They’re a dangerous side away from home and have picked up 17 points on the road already.”
“What you perceive is not always the same as reality. We must stay grounded and keep working away. That’s the only way you can affect things. Football is a results business and our first target is to improve on our position at the midway point last term. We’ll focus on that until 7 January.”
“It’s a strange season: the top eight teams have 17 points fewer than the bottom 12 compared to last season. That shows you how evenly balanced the league is this year.”
“Part of this job involves dealing with the pressure but we have to remember the league doesn’t finish tomorrow. There’s still a long way to go.”
Walter Mazzarri, who is now in charge of the Blues, about the performance of his team so far and what he is going to change:
“Some evolution on the performance level is already being noticed. With Inter we showed good football and we deserved, in my opinion, to finish ahead in the first half. This is a comforting fact.”
“Since I arrived we have realized that at the first mistake we concede goals. On this I will try to remedy by finding more balance. We must be able to attack as we are doing but without taking restarts that cost us the result. This is one element to work on, then we have to proceed game by game. Definitely we need to be more concrete under the goal and realize the chances we create.”
“Juventus-Napoli is a challenge that we know well as special sensations it generates and for the importance of two teams that have been protagonists in the league in recent years. We are playing against an opponent that is doing very well and there is little to add about the depth of the match. We go there as champions of Italy and we want to bring out the progress the boys are making.”
“When a team wins the Scudetto, all opponents put great attention on it, they play with blood in their eyes and it is clear that the pressure increases. Now we have to be mature and capable so that in this roster there are champions who can express themselves at their levels.”
“Osimhen obviously needs time to regain his best form, also because of physical conformation. But it is clear that even if he is not 100 percent, he can still give me great guarantees for the strength he can express even if it is for competitive excerpts as he has done so far after his return.”
Juventus vs Napoli Prediction:
Massimiliano Allegri’s team plays in a style that is well recognized and characteristic for the coach: results above all else. Juventus have conceded just nine goals in 14 league outings – only Serie A leader Inter have a better record. Low totals are a common practice for the Zebras, especially this season. Against Napoli, the Bianconeri will certainly not stray from their defensive style, and for good reason – Osimhen and Co. are producing 1.85 goals per 90 minutes on average (3rd best in the league). At the same time, the Neapolitans are rather sound in defense, especially on the road: they have conceded only 5 times in 7 games. A match of this strategic nature promises to be played cautiously, while anticipating the opponent’s slip-ups.
Juventus are seen as slight favorites – the Turin side have a 9-match unbeaten streak under their belt, while Napoli are in a much worse shape (they won only 1 match in all competitions out of their last 5). The home field factor also gives them a tangible advantage. At the same time, unlike the wards of the recently arrived Walter Mazzarri, the Black and Whites do not play in European cups, and therefore can be fully focused on the national championship, preparing more thoroughly for each opponent and having fresher legs.
Parimatch News staff prediction:
We say: Juventus will not lose and the total of the match will be less than 3.5 – Yes.
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