Juventus have a great opportunity to complete their remarkable comeback on Saturday as they host Serie A leaders Napoli at their own Juventus Stadium in a match billed by the pundits as the most important of the season.
As things stand, champions Juventus are trailing the southerners by two points but no fewer than eight clear of third-placed Fiorentina.
With 14 matchdays to go, last weekend’s results continued to suggest that this season’s title chase will be a two-horse race and come May 15, it will be either Juve’s fifth straight scudetto or Napoli’s third in history – their first after a 26-year wait.
Both Juventus and Napoli were off to uninspiring starts in summer.
Juve, in fact, only managed five points in their first six outings and Napoli had a single win to show after five rounds.
Napoli’s campaign then took a twist to the right direction after beating Juventus 2-1. Since then, Maurizio Sarri’s side only lost once (against Bologna 2-3 on the 15th day). Then, after the turn of the year, they surpassed previous pacesetters Inter at the summit of the Serie A standings.
Juve’s turnaround started on October 31 and triggered by their last-gasp win over city rivals Torino. That three-pointer was the first of 14 straight wins for Juventus as their winning streak included victories over Milan, Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Roma among others.
Napoli, too, are on an impressive run as they have beaten Atalanta (3-1), Torino (2-1), Frosinone (5-1), Sassuolo (3-1), Sampdoria (4-2), Empoli (5-1), Lazio (2-0) and Carpi (1-0) in succession.
So, Saturday’s clash will not only be reserved to the top two teams in the standings but the fixture also brings together the two most in-form sides.
Juventus have a huge incentive to go all the way in Europe this year
Statistics show that Napoli have the most prolific attack this season (53 goals scored) and Juve are second best with 45 in favour.
On the other hand, last season’s league and cup winners have the best defensive record – 15 goals against – four better off than their rivals Napoli.
In Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala, Napoli and Juventus have arguably the two most deadly strikers in Italian football at the moment.
Higuain has already found the net 24 times (two from penalties)... nine more than Dybala.
However, Napoli have a poor record in head-to-head clashes with Juventus in Turin. Up north, Napoli only have seven wins to show from 78 matches with the Bianconeri in all competitions.
The most recent was in October 31, 2009. On that occasion, Napoli came from two goals down to upstage Ciro Ferrara’s Juve by the odd goal in five.
This weekend’s encounter is a crucial one but surely not decisive even if Napoli can emulate Udinese by becoming the second team to conquer the Juventus Stadium this season, and go five points clear at the top.
Both Juventus and Napoli are still involved in European club competitions.
Juve take on Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich in the Champions League last 16 first leg on February 23 whereas Napoli, who qualified to the first knock out stages of the Europa League with a perfect record of six wins from as many outings in Group D, will lock horns with Villarreal, currently fourth in La Liga, next week.
Juventus have a huge incentive to go all the way in Europe this year given that the final will be played at Milan’s San Siro stadium.
Even Napoli have ambitions of their own on the continent as they seek to claim their second Europa League title – the first after 27 years.
Former Italy coach Cesare Prandelli reckons Napoli would have a “serious claim on the scudetto” if they beat Juventus this weekend.
“It’s a game that promises entertainment,” he was quoted as saying earlier this week.
“Both teams are in peak physical condition, and I think it’ll be an open match without any special tactics. It’s difficult to make a prediction, but if Napoli win they’ll have a serious claim on the scudetto, while the race will stay open if the Bianconeri win.”
Juventus had given all other title pretenders a headstart after their stuttering start to the season but now they’ve caught up and firing on all cylinders as the likes of Roma, Inter and Fiorentina have all fallen by the wayside.
Only Napoli succeeded in profiting from the situation as the shrewd Sarri steered the side to their top placing at this delicate phase of the competition.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash, this week described by Roma coach Luciano Spalletti as ‘the highest expression of our football’ will definitely generate great interest in the Italian game, also from outside the country with the match to be screened live worldwide and very likely to generate plenty of extra cash for the two clubs.