North vs South
At the start of the 18th match day of Serie A we have an absolute cracker ahead of us: SSC Napoli has Juventus Turin as guests. The leader of the Italian league is therefore expecting the second from Turin. There is a lot of explosiveness in the south versus north duel.
Napoli are 7 points clear of second Juventus going into Matchday 18. With a home win, the southern Italians could initially pull away to 10 points - a deficit that would be difficult for the old lady to catch up by the end of the championship.
Especially since the two Milan clubs are lurking behind the Turin team. But if the Bianconeri could win in Naples, the title race would be wide open again. Then Juve would only be 4 points behind Napoli and would also have the momentum on their side.
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Napoli analysis
The SSC Napoli is currently very difficult to defeat. However, one Italian side did it recently, Inter Milan. The Nerazzurri narrowly won 1-0 in their first game of the year at home. This was the first defeat in the current championship for the team of coach Luciano Spalletti after 14 successes from the first 17 games. Last week, the Neapolitans won 2-0 at Sampdoria, so they got back on the road to success in time for the hit against Juve.
Napoli have won 12 of their last 13 league games. The Azzurri have also won their last 6 home games and have scored at least twice in their last 5 appearances at home . None of the big rivals have been guests in Naples this season. The most difficult opponent that the southern Italians were able to defeat at home was probably Udine on the 15th matchday before the World Cup break. This game ended with 3-2 for Napoli.
Napoli have won 7 games with 1 draw in their first 8 home games in Serie A. The Azzurri have been unbeaten for 11 home games in the league, the last home defeat was last April against Fiorentina, who were playing very well at the time. In 8 home games, the Spaletti team scored 21 goals with only 6 goals conceded. The southern Italians scored in all home games, at least twice in the last 5.
In every 2nd home game, the Neapolitans don't allow anything. Nevertheless, more than 3.5 goals are scored in 2 thirds of home games. Whether the Azzurri can hit so well against the bombproof Juve defense remains to be seen. Napoli have conceded the 1st goal in 4 of their last 5 games . Both teams have scored in 5 of the last 7 matches, resulting in over 2.5 goals.
Napoli won the first 3 duels of the season with the Serie A heavyweights Lazio, Milan and Roma - all of them even away from home. But the guest appearance at Inter was lost. The southern Italians have the advantage over Juve that they have no casualties to complain about - in contrast to the old lady. However, the Bianconeri are the historical nemesis of the Neapolitans and have often caused them to stumble in the recent past.
Juventus analysis
Juventus are in impressive shape at the moment. The Bianconeri have won the last 8 games in Serie A and have not even conceded a goal. Juve have not conceded a goal for 756 minutes, since October 8th when they lost 2-0 to Milan. Can Napoli break this goal barrier?
They defeated Inter and Lazio. After the restart, Massimiliano Allegri's side were content with 1-0 victories against Cremonese and Udine. Those were the season successes 10 and 11 after 4 draws and 2 defeats. Now Juve wants to attack Napoli.
Juventus also won the last 4 away games in Serie A with a clean sheet, most recently at Cremonese and Hellas. The last away bankruptcy was in October at Milan. From the first 8 guest appearances this season, the old lady achieved 4 successes with 2 draws and 2 defeats each. The Allegri-Eleven scored 5 times conceding only 4 goals. Only in one away game did both teams score goals, only in 2 were more than 1.5 goals scored.
In the 5 of the last 6 league games there was a draw at the break and Juve was able to secure victory in the 2nd half. In 13 of the 17 games of the season, the Bianconeri provided the 1st goal, but the old lady only scored 19% of the goals this season abroad . There were less than 2.5 goals in 5 of the last 6 league games, 4 times it was even less than 1.5 goals.
In 12 games of the season, Juve didn't allow anything behind , the Bianconeri only conceded more than 1.5 goals twice. In 7 games of the season, the old lady scored twice, only 3 times they went completely empty-handed. In 7 of the last 9 matches there were less than 10.5 corners in total, in 5 of the last 6 games under 4.5 cards.
Napoli - Juventus: What to expect?
Historically, the old lady has the edge: In Serie A, 70 duels went to Juve, only 34 to Napoli, 48 ended in a draw. In the past 10 comparisons, Turin won 5 times with 2 draws and 3 defeats. In the previous season, however, the Neapolitans remained undefeated with a home win and an away draw.
Napoli won the last 3 home duels. Juve haven't been able to win at Vesuvius for almost 4 years. Both teams have scored in the last 4 meetings, Napoli have scored in the last 4 meetings and in the last 4 meetings at home . Both teams have scored goals in 7 of the last 10 meetings and in 7 of the last 9 duels in Naples. There have been more than 2.5 goals
in 6 of the last 10 comparisons and in 4 of the last 6 meetings in Napoli. In the coaching duel it is 5: 4 for Juve's coach Allegri (4 draws). The 55-year-old has recorded 11 wins, 9 draws and 8 defeats in his first 28 meetings with Napoli. SSC coach Spalleti has lost 20 of their first 29 ties with Juve, winning just 3 and drawing 6.
In the last 3 head-to-head meetings you would have paid if you placed a bet for both teams to score. Also we expect Over 2.5 goals, whereby a draw is not improbable.
- Over 2.5 at odds 2.06
- Both teams to score at odds of 1.85
- X at odds of 3.52
* All odds and markets are correct at time of publication and subject to change.