Napoli Vs Juventus
Sunday 26th January 2020 – 19:45 Kick-Off
Italian Serie A
Pick: Juventus & Both Teams to Score
Odds: 13/5
Bookmaker: Bet365
(All betting odds displayed were correct at time of writing: 23rd January 2020 at 19:10)
Preview: These clubs have drifted in opposing directions since contesting a seven goal thriller in Turin last August. Can a Napoli team struggling for points and languishing in the bottom half of Serie A provide put up any resistance to the league leaders Juventus?
Table of Contents
Napoli Preview – Gattuso already a manager under fire?
Faltering campaigns are often reliant on a big result from nowhere to galvanise everybody involved with the club and pushing in the same direction. Napoli (11th – W6 D6 L8, GF28 GA28) need that badly right now, after a truly dire few months that has seen them drop into the bottom half of Serie A on the back of one win from their last twelve matches (W1 D5 L6). Will Tuesday’s gutsy effort in the Coppa Italia prove a turning point in their season?
Striking early through Lorenzo Insigne, Napoli would somehow protect a slender 1-0 lead in Naples right up until full-time of their midweek clash with Lazio in the cup. In truth, though, it was the latter who deserved a lot more, spurning an opportunity to level from the penalty spot along with creating various other openings during a lively encounter. So a touch of fortune about the win. A vitally important one all the same, though, beating a strong opponent that had been in exceptional recent form.
Gennaro Gattuso will be praying Tuesday’s success can provide the catalyst for a mid-season revival, because his impact since replacing Carlo Ancelotti as the manager has been minimal so far. In fact, it is bordering on detrimental proportions bearing in mind four of his five league games in charge ended with defeat. Three of those were at their San Paolo stadium in Naples, where they have lost four on the bounce in Serie A and last registered a win all the way back in October (D2 L4 since).
Juventus Preview – Sarri seeking winning return to Naples?
Momentum can be a huge factor in football – take Liverpool as a prime example in the here and now – and while Juventus are nowhere near those heights this season, their current streak of five successive Serie A wins suggests this is a team approaching peak form. Particularly as this is usually where this club comes into its own; grind out sufficient wins to be crowned domestic champions, as has been the case for the past eight seasons.
Wednesday’s comfortable progression in the Coppa Italia was another example of where this collective appear to be at, in what could quite conceivably have been a more difficult assignment on paper. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring – his 19th of the campaign – to send The Old Lady on their way to a 3-1 victory in Turin over AS Roma, with the only downside a concession of another goal. That is now the sixth occasion in the last eight league and cup games no clean sheet was kept.
In the league, these defensive vulnerabilities have been even more pronounced. Since the start of the season Sarri’s has tried various combinations at the back but struggled to find one that genuinely seems to work, with Juventus denying just six of their twenty opponents thus far from scoring – while only one of those came in their last eight Serie A fixtures. Five of their most recent six victories required them to outscore the opposition, which might be what is in order again on Sunday.
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Betting Summary
Four defeats in their last five Serie A games, winning one of the last twelve (W1 D5 L6), is dire stuff from Napoli. In August they found themselves 3-0 down in Turin before producing a spirited comeback, levelling at 3-3 before Koulibaly put into his own net in stoppage-time. This second meeting could be equally frenetic, as neither side boast a solid backline any longer while both harbour an abundance of attacking riches. That is especially true of Juventus, who will have a Ronaldo in inspired form and are themselves flying, winning five in a row in the league.
Napoli Vs Juventus – Key Facts:
- Gennaro Gattuso has overseen five games in Serie A since his appointment as Napoli manager in December, winning only once (W1 L4).
- Beating Parma 2-1 at home last time out was Juventus’ fifth consecutive league victory.
- Juventus were 4-3 victors against Napoli in August earlier in the season – a third consecutive Serie A victory in this fixture for The Old Lady.
Beleaguered Napoli would need to produce something extraordinary in order to prevent Juventus from winning this I feel. The fact Maurizio Sarri still cannot seem to stem the flow of goals being conceded provides an element of hope that maybe an upset could be plausible. For me, though, all it means is Juventus will probably reign supreme without keeping a clean sheet, something we have grown accustomed to seeing of late with four of their last five wins in Serie A following this trend.
Best Betting Odds for Napoli Vs Juventus
Napoli – 12/5 Betfair
Draw – 11/4 Bet365
Juventus – 21/20 BetVictor
