SSC Napoli
vs
Juventus Turin
Kick-off
19:45 GMT
01 December 2017
It’s the first day of December and that brings one of the biggest games of the Serie A season as Napoli play host to title rivals, Juventus. Two of Europe’s strongest teams face off at Stadio San Paolo and it is Napoli who are currently top of the Italian top-flight after dropping just four points so far this term while their opponents are 3rd with four fewer points than the hosts.
Juventus have had the slight edge over Napoli in the two sides’ recent meetings, however it was Napoli who won the last fixture as they came out 3-2 winners in the Coppa Italia semi-final after they were beaten 3-1 by Juve in the first-leg. It was back in 2015 that Napoli last beat Juventus in the league but the honours were shared in the last league meeting between them as Sami Khedira’s opener was cancelled out by Marek Hamsik. Both teams have scored in nine of the last ten fixtures across all competitions.
Three points for Napoli would see them take up a very commanding position in the league, especially if second-place Inter were to slip up and drop points. They have two absentees for the match as Faouzi Ghoulam and Arkadiusz Milik both return to action in the new year. Latest matches: SSC Napoli
26.11.2017
Seri
Udinese Calcio
SSC Napoli
0:1
W
21.11.2017
UEFA
SSC Napoli
FC Shakhtar Donetsk
3:0
W
18.11.2017
Seri
SSC Napoli
AC Milan
2:1
W
05.11.2017
Seri
AC Chievo Verona
SSC Napoli
0:0
D
01.11.2017
UEFA
SSC Napoli
Manchester City
2:4
L
Juventus would show a real statement of intent if they were to beat Napoli in this one and it would close the gap between the sides to just one point. However, they have three injury doubts: Benedikt Howedes, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Mario Mandzukic are all being assessed as to whether they will feature on Friday night. Latest matches: Juventus Turin
26.11.2017
Seri
Juventus Turin
FC Crotone
3:0
W
22.11.2017
UEFA
Juventus Turin
FC Barcelona
0:0
D
19.11.2017
Seri
Sampdoria Genoa
Juventus Turin
3:2
L
05.11.2017
Seri
Juventus Turin
Benevento Calcio
2:1
W
31.10.2017
UEFA
Sporting CP
Juventus Turin
1:1
D
The matches between Napoli and Juventus are always entertaining and this is set to be no different. Neither side will want to give too much away in the early exchanges but with home support behind them, Napoli are favourites to take the win in this clash. However, Juventus shouldn’t be ruled out and they could easily take the game to the hosts and come away with the victory.
01 December 2017 - 19:45 GMT
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