Napoli vs Juventus: Will Bianconeri shake off early season woes?
Juventus will be keen on getting back on track as they travel to face familiar foes Napoli on Saturday. However, the Bianconeri will arrive at the Stadio San Paolo to take on an opponent who have had a strong start to the season. Along with Lazio, Roma, AC Milan, and reigning champions Inter, Napoli have picked up six points from six, leaving Juventus already having to play catch up.
It’s been an awful start for Massimiliano Allegri, who was brought back in after being unceremoniously sacked a few seasons back. La Vecchia Signora found Udinese to be a thorn in their side once again, as they were only able to pick up a point during a 2-2 stalemate, but the worst was yet to come. In their first home game, they failed to break down a very defensive Empoli side, who are back in Serie A after securing promotion from the second tier. After grabbing their goal, Empoli, as expected, parked the bus to maximum effect to grind out a 1-0 win, and given that for promoted sides every point will make the difference between relegation and staying afloat, the win over Juventus, who had won the last nine Scudetti prior to Inter’s triumph last term, will naturally be a huge confidence booster.
For Juventus, however, it’s safe to say that confidence will be low in the Bianconeri camp at the moment. They will be hoping to avoid going a third game sans a win, as the last time this happened was during the 2015/16 campaign. While they still went on to win the Scudetto, Inter and AC Milan’s recent return to form last season has shown that Juventus are no longer the undisputed kings of Italy. For Allegri, he’ll be looking for redemption as he comes into this match now having failed to win his last seven matches, but he and Juventus will be taking on a Napoli side who will be determined to put on a good show in front of their home fans.
The Juventus-Napoli rivalry, pitting North against South has always been a hotly contested fixture, and will be even more so now. The Partenopei are determined to secure Champions League football after missing out once again last term, and are on an eight game winning streak since Luciano Spalletti took over. Plus, with the Bianconeri facing an injury and illness crisis, there won’t be a better opportunity for Napoli to snatch three points. With Milan and Lazio, two of the other five teams currently on six points facing off, someone’s bound to drop points, and Napoli can certainly use that to their advantage.
Indeed, Allegri will have to turn Juve’s fortunes around without a host of players. The South Americans, including Paulo Dybala, Juan Cuadrado, Rodrigo Bentancur, Alex Sandro and Danilo, are all unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols and illness (in Cuadrado’s case). Federico Chiesa, who impressed at EURO 2020 and has become a standout player for the Bianconeri since moving from Fiorentina, also sustained an injury on international break and so will be ruled out for this one.
One player, of course, everyone will have their eyes on is Manuel Locatelli, who was another standout performer for the Azzurri this summer and thus earned a big money move from Sassuolo to Juventus. The 23-year-old will have to have a big game in the heart of midfield, especially with Chiesa’s absence, if Juventus want to get back on track after a rough start. In addition, Moise Kean, who first was at Everton and then PSG, is now back in Turin and could also slot into the starting XI in a bid to give La Vecchia Signora some reliable options up front.
Napoli, for their part, also have their fair share of injuries, but arguably are in much better stead than their upcoming visitors, and shouldn’t let this golden opportunity slip through their grasp.
