Serie A 2022-23: Napoli vs Juventus: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head

The wounded Old Lady will have a huge task on their hand as they travel to Naples.

The stakes could not be higher as Juventus heads to Serie A leaders Napoli on Friday night. Juventus are plotting a potential title charge in the second half of the season but they face a huge task to try and haul back Luciano Spalletti’s pace setters. Napoli, who remain top of the standings, returned to winning ways by beating Sampdoria comfortably last weekend.

Victory for Napoli would put them ten points clear of Juventus in second and potentially end any chance of a battle in the coming weeks. With that in mind, Juventus cannot afford to lose at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and their recent form backs up their chances of a positive result.

Kick-off : 1:15 AM (IST), 7:45 PM (GMT)

Napoli Form (all competitions): W-W-W-W-L-W

Juventus Form (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W-W

Players to Watch

Victor Osimhen

Victor Osimhen is an athletic, modern and strong striker who has a strong eye for goal is direct and is pretty good with his hold-up and linkup play. He frequently looks to attack and create spaces, can receive the ball well with his back to the goal, has a good first touch and often times his runs perfectly. His pace is one of the deadliest parts of his game, especially in transitions as it allows him to get ahead of his opponents. He is definitely in some years and will move to a big club as of now he is one of the best strikers in Serie A.

Manuel Locatelli

The Italian can be described as a playmaking central midfielder who also possesses some of the qualities of a traditional defensive midfielder.  The Italian commander has pretty much every pass in his locker, from line-breaking progressive passes to neat and tidy short passes when recycling the ball.  He influences the game by spreading passes into attacking areas, his defensive side of the game is more than impressive.

Head-to-Head

Matches: 36

Juventus: 18

Napoli: 13

Draw: 5

Team News

There are no new injury concerns for Spalletti to worry about, so the only changes to his Napoli side could all be tactical. On the other hand, there is an eye-watering list of injury absentees for Allegri and Juventus to deal with once again here. Dusan Vlahovic (groin), Paul Pogba (knee), Leonardo Bonucci (tendon) and Juan Cuadrado (knee) are all out. While Mattia De Sciglio and Bremer are doubtful. They were able to welcome Angel Di Maria back into the fold, though, after his World Cup exploits with Argentina, while Italy's absence from the tournament allowed Chiesa more time to settle back in after his awful knee injury.

Predicted Lineup

Napoli Predicted Lineup

Meret (GK); Di Lorenzo, Kim Min-jae, Rrahmani, Olivera; Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia

Juventus Predicted Lineup

Szczesny; Danilo, Rugani, Gatti; McKennie, Rabiot, Locatelli, Miretti, Kostic; Di Maria, Milik

Prediction

Both teams are in very good form and this will be a mouthwatering clash. If Allegri's side can make it nine wins in a row here, then there will be a huge shift in momentum in terms of the race for the Scudetto this season, but it remains very hard to call.

Prediction: Napoli 1 - 1 Juventus