Napoli vs Juventus
Italy Serie A
Date: Saturday, 13 February 2021
Kick-Off at 17.00 UK
Venue: Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, Naples.
There will be fireworks when Napoli and Juventus go head to head at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in the Serie A round 22.
The Neapolitans aim to bounce back from a shocking 2-1 loss to Genoa, and we are positive that they will go all guns blazing at Juve.
Since key defender Koulibaly has been tested positive for coronavirus, we are not tempted to put our money on the hosts. Both Manolas and Mertens remain in the treatment room.
The Bianconeri, on the other hand, are eyeing their fourth consecutive win in the Italian top flight.
Andrea Pirlo’s men are determined to defend their trophy, and given their current form in the Serie A, away win should be considered.
Pirlo should have a full squad to choose from as both Aaron Ramsey and Paulo Dybala have recovered from their respective injuries.
As always, Cristiano Ronaldo will be the man to watch in the away team.
Napoli vs Juventus Head-to-head
Teams Napoli Juventus played so far 40 matches.
Napoli won 11 direct matches. Juventus won 20 matches. 9 matches ended in a draw. On average in direct matches both teams scored a 3.03 goals per Match.
Napoli vs Juventus Prediction
Napoli in actual season average scored 2.03 goals per match. In 15 (88.24%) matches played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 10 (58.82%) matches in season 2021 played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals.
Juventus average scored 2.17 goals per match in season 2021. In 14 (100.00%) matches played away was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 8 (57.14%) matches played away team was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals.
Team News:
Napoli are expected to be without injured pair Elseid Hysaj and Diego Demme on Saturday, after the Albanian full-back injured his left leg in midweek and Demme picked up a thigh problem which will be assessed again ahead of kickoff.
As Gennaro Gattuso's centre-back mainstay Kalidou Koulibaly is absent due to COVID-19, back-up defensive pair Amir Rrahmani and Nikola Maksimovic must continue to start despite error-strewn performances of late, given that Kostas Manolas is also out of action until the end of the month.
Fabian Ruiz has returned from quarantine but might not yet be fit to start, so Tiemoue Bakayoko could again be joined by Eljif Elmas and Piotr Zielinski in the midfield three, while Victor Osimhen should keep the central striking berth ahead of Andrea Petagna.
Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo will reportedly not risk rushing Leonardo Bonucci back into action this weekend, after the stalwart centre-back missed out on Coppa Italia duty because of muscle fatigue - a luxury afforded to the Bianconeri, as they have Giorgio Chiellini, Matthijs de Ligt and Merih Demiral all fit and available to replace him.
Though Arthur will be absent again due to injury, Rodrigo Bentancur returns in midfield after being suspended last weekend. Versatile forward Dejan Kulusevski is expected to drop out from the cup XI, to be replaced by Alvaro Morata, with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon also returning to the sidelines as Wojciech Szczesny comes back in to the side.
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Di Lorenzo, Maksimovic, Rrahmani, Rui; Elmas, Bakayoko; Lozano, Zielinski, Insigne; Osimhen
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Cuadrado, De Ligt, Chiellini, Danilo; Chiesa, Rabiot, Bentancur, McKennie; Morata, Ronaldo