Incredibly, this match is taking something of a back seat.
There’s no shortage of big-time matches over the weekend, but in Serie A circles, this match is quite easily the biggest.
Reigning champions Juventus, on something of a charge after a sluggish start, host table-toppers Napoli. I Partenopei are the only ones standing between the Old Lady and first place with a gap of just two-points.
We asked the Ravi from Juvefc.com to answer some questions about Napoli ahead of the Serie A’s blockbuster clash.
Outside90: What’s your favourite Juve vs Napoli clash of all time?
Ravi: The Supercoppa victory in 2012 was a memorable one but the game that means the most to me was probably the match from last season. It might not seem all that significant on the face of it, but the press in Italy tried to portray a-Juve-in-crisis in the run up to that game. We’d drawn a few matches, then lost the Supercoppa final to Napoli a few weeks before we had to face them in the league. We went to Naples and dominated the game, winning 3-1. Following that victory, we went on an incredible run that bought us to within 90 minutes of completing a treble.
O90: How would you sum up Napoli fans?
Ravi: No comment….I’m a Juventino, you can’t ask me that!
O90: Which current Napoli player do you rate the most and why?
(Lorenzo) Insigne – While Higuain is scoring in every game and almost single-handedly keeping them in the top spot, Insigne is pulling the strings behind him. His finishing is superb and he’s scored his share of goals, but I what I like most is how he tends to think 2 steps ahead of everyone else. His creativity and vision, the way he picks out his teammates….a joy to watch.
O90: Which Napoli player do you loathe and why?
Ravi: Higuain, because he’s so damn good! I wouldn’t say I loathed any Napoli players. I have begrudging respect for some of them, like Marek Hamsik for example. I place a lot of stock in players that remain loyal to a club and Hamsik could have left on more than one occasion, so I find something admirable in him still being at Napoli all these years later.
O90: What do you rate you season out of 10 so far and why?
Ravi: A solid 7/10. To recover in the way we did, given the abysmal start to the season, showed real character. This season could easily have been written off as a transitional one, considering that we lost Vidal, Pirlo and Tevez all in one summer. The SuperCoppa aside, August to October were difficult months, losing at home on the opening day of the season, then losing to Roma and Napoli. For the team to have turned things around, and break records in the process, is really encouraging, but we’ve won nothing yet.
O90: Which areas of the pitch should Juve look to strengthen?
Ravi: It depends on what happens in the summer. There’s lots of paper talk involving Allegri, Morata, Pogba etc. If we retain the players we have, I think we need to look at another centre-back, provided we don’t offer Martin Caceres a new deal. A new right-back to learn from Stephan Lichtsteiner would be a worthwhile investment, along with the elusive trequartista that Allegri has wanted for the last two years. Other than that, I think we’re strong in all areas of the team.
O90: What formation/starting XI should Juve field on Sunday?
Ravi: To say we’ve had a lot of injuries this season would be a huge understatement. With that in mind, the Italian press keep suggesting we’re going to field a 4-3-1-2 but I can’t see us shifting from the 3-5-2 when we’ve won 14 games in a row using it so well. I think we’ll line up something like this:
Buffon
Lichtsteiner – Barzagli – Bonucci
Cuadrado – Sturaro – Marchisio – Pogba – Evra
Dybala – Morata
O90: Score prediction for Saturday?
Ravi: I don’t see it being an easy game at all. I think a slender 2-1 victory for Juve. Hoping to see Dybala on the scoresheet alongside Morata.
O90: Where will Juve finish come season’s end and where will Napoli finish?
Ravi: I’m hoping we’ll finish first! Napoli are in sensational form but I think they might run out of steam, just as we start to get important players back into the squad.
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