Serie A 2018/19
- Venue: Juventus Allianz Stadium
- Date: Saturday, 29 September
- Kick-off time: 8:00 PM
Two of Italy's biggest clubs are set to do battle in Turin on Saturday, as Napoli travel north to face rivals Juventus at the Allianz Stadium.
Juventus have made a flying start to the season, with their best points haul after the first 6 games since 1930. Napoli, on the other hand, has also made quite an impressive start sitting only 3 points behind the Turin club. This clash between two master tacticians Allegri and Ancelotti will be one to savour with everything to play for.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus has forced Allegri to rethink how to set his team up. Although against this Napoli team it is expected that the Italian will set up in a 4-3-1-2 formation.
This formation relies heavily on Dybala, who with his intelligent movement and passing can play pinpoint passes into the feet of either Mandzukic or Ronaldo. The runs from Alex Sandro and Joao Cancelo will provide more options down the flanks and Napoli need to ensure that they cut off supply from the byline.
Ancelotti will try utilising Allan by making him press Pjanic/Can high up the pitch and forcing them to play backwards. This will allow the likes of Insigne, Mertens and Callejon to remain high up the pitch and force the Juventus players into mistakes.
This will also force Juve's fullbacks on the defensive and thus mitigate their impact going forward. Furthermore, the key for Napoli going forward will be to ensure they can get their front 3 in as many 1v1 situations with the Juventus backline. They certainly possess the quality in midfield, the question is whether the likes of Hamsik, Zielinski and Allan can step up on this massive occasion.
TEAM NEWS
For Juventus, Mattia De Sciglio is nearing a return from injury although the visit of Napoli will surely come too soon for the full-back. Sami Khedira is also out injured while Douglas Costa remains suspended.
The visitors will be without defender Vlad Chiriches, who has a ligament injury.
POSSIBLE LINE-UP
Juventus: Szczesny; Cancelo, Bonucci, Benatia, Sandro; Khedira, Pjanic/Can, Matuidi; Dybala; Mandzukic, Ronaldo.
Napoli: Ospina; Hysaj, Albiol, Koulibaly, Rui; Allan, Hamsik, Zielinski; Callejon, Mertens, Insigne.
Massimiliano Allegri
Tomorrow will be a nice match, we must be ready for it. The fans will have to be very present because we have to avenge the loss from last season. Standings-wise it counts a lot more for them than it does for us. Winning the league isn’t easy, winning is always hard.
Dybala on the bench is a painful choice? I must make some choices. Bernardeschi is our most in-form player. After today’s practice, I’ll make my decisions. Ancelotti and I aren’t creative? Everyone handles the manager role as they see fit, in the end, I think winning is what counts.
Ancelotti has won a lot, myself less. We are similar, we come from the same school. Napoli are on an impressive streak. Ancelotti was smart to not destroy Sarri’s work by bringing his mentality
De Sciglio and Khedira should return in Udine. We’ll see if we can recuperate Douglas Costa by Wednesday.
Carlo Ancelotti
I am grateful to Ronaldo, regardless of the goals he scored to win the Champions League at Madrid. I am happy that he plays in Italy now, he is an added value to every team, I think he should always win the Ballon d'Or.
There are no more secrets in football thanks to TV and video. [Massimiliano] Allegri is a great manager, a practical one.
I am on very good terms with him. It's going to be Juve v Napoli, not Ronaldo v [Lorenzo] Insigne. Whoever plays the better football will win.
We can't get more than three points, but we are aware that a win would give us a lot of self-confidence.
We want to be competitive until the end of the season and these games are important to understanding what level we are at right now.
We want to limit them and play our football. I don't care about predictions and I wouldn't sign for a draw.
I'm not here to dither. The conditions [for success] are in place: the club is organised, the team have quality and the fans are fired up.
Betting & Match Odds
Juventus are priced at odds of winning 1.81 according to
VBet, while a draw is available at 3.50. A win for Napoli are priced at 4.80.
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VBet’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
