Sunday Serie A- Juventus vs Napoli Preview
April 22nd 2018 19:45 – Allianz Stadium
Recent Form (League)
Juventus: LWWWD
Napoli: WDWDW
Juventus welcome Napoli on Sunday night for Serie A’s biggest game of the season so far.
La Vecchia Signora have finally found a legitimate challenger for their Scudetto crown and have been made to work all the way by Napoli, just four points separate the two teams with five games left to play. Juventus head coach Max Allegri knows that a win would virtually secure the title while a defeat would pile the pressure on.
Juventus’ home form is incredible, just one home defeat in the league since October 2015, the champions are almost unbeatable in front of their own fans and AC Milan are the only visiting team to have scored in the last nine Serie A matches at this ground. In total, Juve have only conceded five goals at home this season.
The Juventus strike force is impressive, currently highest scorers in the league, and of course there is always the subplot of Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuian facing his former club. This will be Higuian’s 100th game for Juventus in all competitions. So far, he has 54 goals, with five coming against his former club.
Allegri knows that winning the game is not a necessity. Just avoid defeat and he can be virtually assured of his fourth Scudetto in four seasons. However, this has been the toughest test so far.
Napoli on the other hand are in the last chance salon in terms of their Scudetto challenge, and anything short of a win wil surely end the dream.
Despite the impressive home form of their hosts, Maurizio Sarri’s team can travel with confidence, boasting some impressive form away from home this term.
Napoli have not lost away from home in the league in 18 months and have won 12 and drawn four on their travels this term. Napoli have also gained the most points from trailing situations in Serie A this season (28), thanks to nine wins and a draw as Sarri’s side show some grit as well as flair.
One criticism of the former Empoli coach has been his lack of rotation, with striker Arkadiusz Milik now fit and scoring his inclusion in the starting line up must be worth considering. The fact that Dries Mertens has failed to score in his last seven league meetings against Juventus (his only goal versus the Bianconeri came in March 2014) only seems to back up the idea of Sarri finally making some changes to his starting 11.
Prediction:
Both of these teams have built their form on solid defending, with Napoli conceding just once in their five visits to sides in the top seven, but Juventus and their imperious home form can not be discounted. So a draw looks the best outcome with less than 2.5 goals in the game.
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