Juventus vs. Napoli Preview
Juventus return to domestic action after picking up maximum points in Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
Juventus will look to continue their undefeated start to the Serie A season, but will hope to improve on recent goalless snoozefests against Roma and Empoli.
Match Details
- Date: Saturday, 21 September, 2024
- Location: Turin, Italy
- Venue: Allianz Stadium
- Kick-off time: 17:00 BST, 18:00 UTC
- Tickets: Available through Juventus club website or via trusted resellers online.
Recent Form
The club have started well in Serie A, undefeated after four games. The side are yet to concede a goal in the league yet, but two boring 0-0 draws against Roma and Empoli have led to questions about Juventus’ deficiencies up front..
Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven will have alleviated some fears about Juventus’ attacking prowess, but Thiago Motta will be frustrated at Juventus conceding their first goal of the season at the death.
Napoli started the season slowly, barely getting through in the Coppa Italia before losing their league opener 3-0 to Hellas Verona. Since then, Antonio Conte’s side have racked up three consecutive wins - with an average of three goals scored per game - most recently demolishing Cagliari 4-0.
Head to Head
Napoli are actually on a roll against Juventus in recent years, having won six of their last nine games against the Bianconeri in Serie A, as many as they had in the previous 22 encounters. Their last encounter was in March 2024, with Napoli triumphing 2-1 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
It is, however, at home where Juventus have the advantage. Juve have won 10 of their last 13 home games against Napoli, most recently a 1-0 win last season.
Draws have been pretty thin on the ground recently, with just one draw in the last fourteen meetings between Juventus and Napoli in Serie A: 1-1 on 6 January 2022 at the Allianz Stadium.
Not only are Juventus the side that has won the most matches against Napoli in Serie A (with a record of 71 wins, 48 draws and 37 losses), they have scored the most goals against them too. In total, Juve have netted 227 times against the Partenopei in Serie A.
Team News
Juventus got their first taste of midweek football this season against PSV, with Thiago Motta possibly looking to rotate some players out. With Federico Gatti coming off injured on Tuesday, Danilo may finally get back into the squad, having struggled with fitness so far.
Douglas Luiz, Khephren Thuram, and Nicolo Fagioli will all look to force themselves into the squad, having been benched on Tuesday. At the moment, the only names on the injury list for Juve are Francisco Conceição and former Napoli striker Arkadiusz Malik.
Napoli have no injury concerns to speak of, and with no European football this season, do not need to rotate their strongest XI. The eyes of the Tartan Army will be firmly locked on Turin on Saturday night as the Scottish pair of Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour look primed to be included in the squad, having made their debuts last week.
Players To Watch
Juventus - Weston McKennie
The USMNT star was a surprise inclusion in the starting XI against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday, after a contract dispute with the club saw him frozen out over the summer.
Not for the first time at Juventus, McKennie has got his head down, impressed in training, and worked his way back into consideration. McKennie repaid manager Thiago Motta’s faith by scoring on Tuesday, with a stellar display in midfield.
With the man touted to replace him, Douglas Luiz, failing to fire on all cylinders so far, McKennie has found himself an opening. Can he fill it?
Napoli - Romelu Lukaku
When Antonio Conte was announced as the new Napoli manager, it felt like only a matter of time before Lukaku would join him. Conte was not shy about his desire for Lukaku to replace Victor Osimhen up-top, having previously worked together at Inter Milan during their 2020/21 Scudetto win, with Lukaku racking up 24 goals and 11 assists in 36 Serie A appearances that season.
The Belgian striker made an immediate impact in his Napoli debut, heading home on his debut, and rousing his side into a late 2-1 comeback win against Parma at home. He was even more lethal, grabbing two assists and a goal, as the Rossoblu romped to a 4-0 win away at Cagliari.
Lukaku has never managed to score in each of his first three matches with a club, but if ever there was a manager to will him into it, it’s Conte. With a record of 66 goals in 97 games played under Conte, Lukaku will provide Juventus their sternest defensive test of the season so far.
Expected Line-Ups
Juventus possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Danilo, Bremer, Cambiaso; Locatelli, McKennie; Gonzalez, Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic
Napoli possible starting lineup:
Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Mazzocchi, Lobotka, Anguissa, Spinazzola; Neres, Kvaratskhelia; Lukaku
Prediction
The win over PSV will have calmed some jangling nerves amongst the Juventus fan base who had slogged through two energy-sapping draws in the ten days prior. While questions remain over Vlahovic’s paucity in front of goal, overall, it is a side brimming with talent and attacking power.
The goal conceded in stoppage time against PSV was Juve’s first of the campaign, the only real downside to Tuesday’s performance. Buoyed by his reunion with Conte, Romelu Lukaku will be keen to become the first person to score against Juventus in Serie A this season.
Napoli have attempted the most shots so far in Serie A (72), whilst Juventus have faced the fewest (25). Napoli are flying high, but Juventus at home are a match for anyone on their day and Thiago Motta will be hopeful of another win to keep the pace up in the title hunt.
Old Juve predicts a 2-1 Juventus win.