Napoli vs Juventus: Bianconeri hope to close gap on league leaders

Topics: TV Listings, TV Schedules, Napoli, Juventus, Serie A

Juventus will hope to close the gap on current league leaders Napoli when they travel to face the Partenopei on Friday, January 13th.

Serie A's two top sides will face off on Friday as current league leaders Napoli welcome Juventus. The Partenopei, who were recently beaten by Inter, thus ending their unbeaten run in Serie A, bounced back with a comfortable win against Sampdoria. Coupled with draws for Inter and AC Milan, Luciano Spalletti's side remain seven points clear, but have a very determined Juventus side breathing down their necks as the Scudetto race really starts to heat up.

Indeed, Napoli are not yet the clear favorites to win the Scudetto, and fans of the Southern Italian side will recall the 2015/16 and 2017/18 campaigns during which the team were leading the table, but ended up stumbling and seeing Juventus walk off with the prize. Many criticized then boss Maurizio Sarri for putting all his eggs in one basket in a determined focus to win the Scudetto at the cost of other options (such as the Coppa Italia or even the Europa League).

And now, the same Juventus are hot on their tails once again. The Bianconeri had a really rough start to the Serie A campaign, but that seems like a lifetime ago. Massimiliano Allegri's side come into this contest having won eight consecutive Serie A matches, which is the first time they have achieved this since 2018. Coincidentally, the same Allegri was in charge as the team overtook Napoli to win the Scudetto. Additionally, Juve's eight match winning run has seen them keep the same number of clean sheets, and in total, they have earned a very impressive 12 shut-outs in their last 17 matches.

With just seven goals conceded, Juventus have by far the strongest defense in Serie A, a fact that bodes quite well in their favor to win the Scudetto, especially based on one curious stat. Only one team in the last 15 Serie A campaigns has failed to win the Scudetto when boasting the best defensive record, but Napoli's solid attack, which has seen them net a league-high 39 goals so far this season, could put Juve's clean-sheet streak and defensive record under threat on Friday.

Team news: Napoli vs Juventus

Napoli: No fresh injury or suspension concerns for the hosts.

Juventus: Paul Pogba, Leonardo Bonucci, Dusan Vlahovic, and Juan Cuadrado are all still out, while Mattia De Sciglio is a major doubt. However, both Angel Di Maria and Federico Chiesa returned for the team's last game, and one or both could be involved in this upcoming game.

Match facts: Napoli vs Juventus

Juventus are unbeaten in eight Serie A matches when facing the team top of the table at the start of the matchday (W6 D2)
This tie will pit the two sides with the best attacking record (Napoli, 39 goals) against the team with the best defensive record (Juventus, seven goals)
Curiously, in the last six meetings between the first and second teams in the standings in Serie A, the home team has failed to win: five defeats and one draw...
...however, Napoli have won their last three home meetings against Juventus
Juventus have lost more matches against Napoli than any other side in Serie A (70)