Prediction: Juventus vs Napoli

1st April 2012

Juventus have been given an excellent opportunity to revive their title ambitions as Milan failed to beat Catania at Angelo Massimino, but beating in-form Napoli in Turin will be no easy task. The Azzurri can climb to third place with a win at Juventus Arena, and you can be sure they won’t be afraid to attack the Bianconeri at their own ground.

Following some pretty impressive showings in the first part of the season, the Bianconeri suffered a big dip in form in late February and the run of four straight draws threatened to hurt their Serie A title bid. Anotnio Conte’s side responded well to the first real test of the season as they hammered arch rivals Fiorentina 5-0 before ensuring their place in the Coppa Italia final with an extra time victory over Milan. The convincing victory over struggling Inter helped the Old Lady maintain the good atmosphere in the squad, and after Milan could only draw against Catania, they were finally given a chance to close the gap behind the Rossoneri. Antonio Conte is set to revert to 3-5-2 formation, similar to the one played by their next opponents, with Mirko Vucinic and Alessandro Matri set to start up front. Stephan Lichtsteiner will occupy the right flank after serving a one-match ban, meaning that Martin Caceres is likely to be relegated to the bench in spite of several very good performances.

Napoli spent much of this season struggling to find the right balance between their Serie A and Champions League campaigns, but the team have shown a considerable improvement few weeks after the winter break. The six-match winning run in all competitions showed the Azzurri have enough quality to fight for domestic and European honours, and they can definitely be proud with their European exploits even if they failed to hold on to a two-goal advantage against Chelsea. The Partenopei have since beaten Siena and played out entertaining draws with Udinese and Catania, scoring exactly two goals in all three games. After Lazio lost to Parma, Napoli can climb to third place with a victory in Turin and the Azzurri will give their best to inflict Juventus the first defeat of the season. With Marco Donadel the only unavailable player at the moment, Walter Mazzarri will be able to field his strongest line-up, with Three Tenors leading the way.

Conclusion

The two sides are set to meet in the Coppa Italia final in May, meaning this game will be a dress rehearsal for that match. Both managers are aware that a failure to win this game would be considered a big setback in the battle to realize their Serie A ambitions, so everything suggests we will see a very open game at Juventus Arena.

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 5/6

Bookmaker: Ladbrokes