Juventus vs Napoli Preview

Serie A returns this weekend with defending champions Napoli travelling to Turin to face Juventus in Round 15 of the league season.

The hosts have enjoyed a stellar season so far keeping tabs on Inter Milan at the summit of the league table thanks to ten wins in their opening 14 games (D3, L1). Their most recent win came in a 2-1 win over Monza at the weekend, which kept them just two points behind Inter Milan.

That result also extended their unbeaten run to nine games (W7, D2), making them one of the most in-form sides in Europe. Their current title challenge has been built on solid defencive foundations, having conceded just nine times across their 14 league games so far this season.

That robust backline has contributed to an unbeaten home league record to date (W5, D2). They will be desperate to win here as a victory at home to reigning champions Napoli would temporarily lift them into top spot.

However, their hopes will come under serious threat against a Napoli side that Juve has failed to beat in the last two home H2Hs (D1, L1). The visitors are in a four-game sequence against top opposition, having faced Atalanta, Real Madrid and Inter in their last three games. Of those three games, they only managed to beat Atalanta 2-1 before a 4-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League and a 3-0 loss to Inter last time out.

That loss to Inter caused quite a stir, with the Napoli CEO lodging a formal complaint about the quality of refereeing in Serie A after his side was controversially denied a penalty. But controversy aside, the visitors look unlikely to successfully defend their Scudetto after a run of eight league games with differing results in sequence (W4, D1, L3), leaving them eleven points from the top.

However, their key strength has been their away form, as they boast one of only two unbeaten road records in SA (W5, D2), a return which accounts for over two-thirds of their points gained this term. Having beaten Juventus in three of their last four head-to-head games (D1), they will fancy their chances of bouncing back here and move themselves back into the top four.

This game gets underway at 19:45 BST.

Other fixtures taking place this week in Serie A:

Serie A Table