Serie A Preview: Napoli vs Juventus – Team News, Lineups & Prediction | OneFootball

Stadio Diego Armando Maradona sets the stage for a high-stakes Serie A showdown between Napoli and Juventus. Sunday night’s blockbuster in Naples pits the reigning Scudetto holders against the record-time Italian champions in a potentially season-defining contest.

Napoli have steered their title defense back on track after back-to-back winless league games (D1, L1). Indeed, consecutive victories over fellow top-half rivals Atalanta and Roma had fired Antonio Conte’s side to second in the table ahead of this round.

However, after Inter’s dominant 4-0 home triumph over Como last night, the Partenopei have slipped to third in the standings, two points adrift of the Nerazzurri. Conte goes up against his former club, seeking an all-important win, as the hosts look to extend their winning home league run against Juventus to seven matches.

The Turin giants have lost their last six away clashes against Napoli since 2020, with four of those defeats coming via an identical 2-1 scoreline. Yet, Luciano Spalletti returns to his old stomping ground in high spirits after Juventus won their last three outings in all competitions.

Spalletti, who guided Napoli to their third Scudetto in 2023, has turned Juventus’ fortunes around since taking over from Igor Tudor in late October. Nonetheless, there’s no room for complacency, given that the Bianconeri entered this round four points behind fourth-placed Roma.

Match Preview

Napoli

Despite losing three times in the opening 13 rounds (W9, D1), Napoli remain firmly in contention for their fifth Scudetto. That’s already one defeat fewer than in their entire 2024/25 title-winning campaign, highlighting a minor drop-off. However, Conte could still become the first manager to inspire the Partenopei to successive top-flight titles.

The 56-year-old manager has turned the Maradona Stadium into a fortress. Indeed, Napoli have only dropped points once in their six home league fixtures this season (W5, D1), courtesy of a scoreless draw against Como at the beginning of November.

Conte’s charges have gone from strength to strength in Naples, scoring three goals against last season’s top-four finishers Inter and Atalanta. Furthermore, it’s been a year since Napoli last lost a home league match, suggesting their formidable home run against Juventus is well-placed to continue.

Still, connoisseurs of action-packed football cannot expect a quick-fire start, considering none of Napoli’s six home games in Serie A this season have produced a goal inside the opening 15 minutes.

Juventus

Unbeaten in eight straight matches across all competitions (W5, D3), Juventus head into proceedings determined to stop their rot on the South Coast. The Bianconeri bounced back from a pair of low-scoring draws against Torino and Fiorentina with a 2-1 win over Cagliari last time out.

Moreover, their confidence received another boost in midweek Coppa Italia action, as goals on either side of halftime fired them to a 2-0 home victory over Udinese. Fresh off reaching the quarter-finals in Italy’s premier cup competition, Spalletti’s side will be out to post their first Serie A triumph in Naples since March 2019.

Conceding first may not necessarily derail Juventus’ hopes of halting their dreadful streak at the Maradona Stadium. Indeed, the visitors have already salvaged points from a losing position three times under Spalletti. Yet, they may need more than just desire to maintain their resurgence.

In fact, Spalletti must address Juventus’ travel sickness that has seen the Allianz club win only two of their eight away matches this season (D3, L3).

Team News

In addition to long-term absentees Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Alex Meret, and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Napoli will be without Stanislav Lobotka and Billy Gilmour. As such, Conte is likely to turn to Scott McTominay and Elif Elmas to shoulder the creative burden tonight. Miguel Gutierrez is also out, meaning Mathias Olivera will operate on the left flank.

Meanwhile, Juventus cannot call upon the services of Gleison Bremer, Federico Gatti, Daniele Rugani, Dusan Vlahovic, and Arkadiusz Milik. With the Serbian superstar sidelined until 2026, it’ll be either Lois Openda or Jonathan David to spearhead Juve’s attack. Despite his underwhelming form, the misfiring Canadian striker could get the nod this evening.

Napoli vs Juventus Potential Starting Lineups

Napoli (3-4-2-1): Milinkovic-Savic; Beukema, Rrahmani, Buongiorno; Di Lorenzo, Elmas, McTominay, Olivera; Neres, Lang; Hojlund.

Juventus (3-4-2-1): Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Kelly, Koopmeiners; Cambiaso, Locatelli, Thuram, Kostic; Conceicao, Yildiz; David.

Napoli vs Juventus Prediction

Given Napoli’s intimidating form at the Maradona Stadium and their sterling home record against Juventus, it’s only reasonable to expect Conte to inflict further damage on his old club’s Scudetto pursuit. Napoli will likely have to run their socks off to take all three points, but we still fancy them to pull it off.