Serie A Betting Preview: Juventus vs Napoli

December 8, 2023

Juventus take on bitter rivals Napoli in a crunch Serie A clash on Friday night.

The Bianconeri have failed to beat Napoli in their last four meetings, losing three of them, including a 5-1 defeat at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in January. Only a few months later (in April), Napoli also claimed their first win at Juventus since April 2018.

Thus, The Partenopei have won both Serie A matches against Juventus last season, completing a league double over them just for the fourth time.

All in all, Juventus will be looking to claim their first victory against Napoli since April 2021.

Juventus Betting Preview (+135 at MyBookie)

Having won six of their last seven games, Massimiliano Allegri's side remained within touching distance of the Serie A top with their 2-1 victory at Monza last Friday. A dramatic win that extended their unbeaten run to nine games (7-2-0) and another success here would temporarily climb them into top spot at least for a while (until Inter Milan's match against Udinese on Saturday night).

Juventus' current title challenge is mostly based on solid defensive foundations, having conceded just nine times across their 14 Serie A games so far this season.

Their sturdy backline has contributed to an unbeaten home record to date (5-2-0), although that will come under a serious threat against a Napoli side who are bidding to avoid defeat on a third consecutive visit to Juventus for the first time since the 90's. The last time that happened was when Napoli managed three straight draws at the old Delle Alpi between October 1995 and March 1998.

Mattia De Sciglio and Timothy Weah are both injured for Juventus, while the likes of Paul Pogba and fellow midfielder Nicolo Faigioli are suspended for doping and illegal betting activity, respectively.

Danilo recovered from an injury to feature in Juventus' 2-0 win at Monza and it remains to be seen whether the Brazilian defender is fully fit to start against Napoli.

Dusan Vlahovic missed his second penalty of the season against Monza last time out, with the Serb forward failing to impress after a promising start to the campaign. Luckily, Juventus have once again won the three points (as it happened in the 2-0 win at Empoli in September) despite Vlahovic's miss and Massimiliano Allegri might be willing to reconsider his first-choice penalty taker.

Vlahovic's partner Federico Chiesa is also looking to score his first Serie A goal since the 4-2 loss at Sassuolo in September. The Italian international scored in the Azzurri's crucial Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia last month and he can surely do better for Juventus.

Adrien Rabiot, who captained the squad in Danilo's absence over the past weeks, made the difference at Monza. He opened the scoring and assisted for Federico Gatti's stoppage-time winner. Recent reports suggest that the Frenchman is set to renew his contract at Juventus and will play a pivotal role in their Scudetto push.

Napoli Betting Preview (+215 at MyBookie)

Having clinched their first Scudetto in over 30 years (dating back to the 1989-90 season during the legendary Diego Maradona era), Napoli are struggling to adapt to life after Luciano Spalletti.

Meanwhile, the former Napoli and current Italy head coach - Luciano Spalletti - has officially become an honorary citizen of the city of Naples on Thursday.

Under his guidance, Napoli won the Serie A title with a club-record 90 points, eventually finishing 16 points clear of runners-up Lazio.

The Partenopei now travel North following back-to-back defeats last week. First, Napoli suffered a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League before a heavy 3-0 home loss to Inter Milan in Serie A last weekend.

As a result, Napoli sit fifth in the Serie A table, level on 24 points with AS Roma in fourth (11 points off the top), but the Giallorossi have superior goal difference. Moreover, Walter Mazzarri's men will welcome Braga in a crucial Champions League game next week.

The new Napoli boss expressed his desire to bring balance to the Scudetto winners ahead of their trip to Turin. Despite the two defeats, Mazzarri's side have shown some positives since his re-appointment to Napoli, most notably in the 2-1 victory at fellow top-four hopefuls Atalanta on his debut right after the international break.

The 62-year-old Italian tactician took over the reigning champions last month after the dismissal of Rudi Garcia, who failed to impress in his first few months in the Campania capital.

According to domestic media, there had been suggestions that captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo was not 100 percent fit and could therefore be forced to miss out on the big showdown for a top four spot.

It would’ve been a huge blow for Napoli, considering left-backs Mathias Olivera and Mario Rui are already injured. However, Di Lorenzo played down all rumors by responding on social media with a photograph of him smiling and running during training.

Up front, Victor Osimhen has yet to score since his return from a muscle injury, but this could be the game for the Nigerian forward to do it in. Osimhen netted a brace in Napoli's 5-1 home win over Juventus in January, but he had failed to score in all other of his four meetings against the Old Lady, though Napoli have won three of them.

Possible Starting Lineups of Juventus and Napoli

Juventus: Wojciech Szczesny - Danilo, Bremer, Frederico Gatti - Andrea Cambiaso, Weston McKennie, Adrien Rabiot, Manuel Locatelli, Filip Kostic - Dusan Vlahovic, Federico Chiesa. (3-5-2-)

Napoli: Alex Meret - Juan Jesus, Amir Rrahmani, Natan, Giovanni Di Lorenzo - Frank Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Piotr Zielinski, Matteo Politano - Victor Osimhen. (4-2-3-1)

Spooky Express Betting Prediction

It would be an astonishing achievement if Napoli somehow manage to defend their Serie A crown, but anything other than a top-four finish would be deemed a failure.

Unlike their awful home form, Napoli boast one of only two unbeaten away records in Serie A (5-2-0), a return which accounts for over two-thirds of their points (17 out of 24) gained this season.

Juventus, on the other hand, remain the only unbeaten side at home in Serie A this season and Massimiliano Allegri’s men will be eager to build on their superb form on Friday night.

Spooky Express Free Play: Over 2.5 Goals +110 at MyBookie for 5/10 Units

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