Serie A: Naples Welcomes the Old Lady

Napoli vs Juventus

Serie A leaders Napoli have another test of their Scudetto credentials when fifth-placed Juventus are the visitors to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium for a Saturday afternoon skirmish to relish.

Antonio Conte’s Napoli won a five-goal thriller away to Atalanta last week, and that left them three points above reigning champions Inter Milan. And the latest Serie A 2025 betting odds make it a two to three-horse race, with Inter the favourites ahead of Napoli and Atalanta quite a bit further behind in third. Meanwhile, Juventus are sitting in fifth and two places behind Lazio in fourth.   

Thiago Motta’s Juventus were in Champions League action on Tuesday, drawing 0-0 away to Club Brugges, and last time out in the league, they had a 2-0 win at home to AC Milan.

Both I Partenopei and the Old Lady really need a win on Saturday, and the Serie A 2025 updates will be well worth keeping up with. Inter Milan are away to Lecce, while Lazio entertain Fiorentina on Sunday in another blockbuster weekend of Italian footy.     

 

Talking Points

Napoli’s title tilt looking good

With I Nerazzurri breathing down their necks, Conte’s Napoli are holding their nerve quite nicely and are on a run of six consecutive league wins, last slipping up against Lazio early in December.

The wily Italian boss is a superb tactician, and he has a knack of getting the best out of players. Reunited with striker Romelu Lukaku, who has been treading water since the two were together at Inter Milan, he has managed to put a smile back on the Belgian star’s face and Lukaku has responded with eight goals and an impressive five assists.

And then there is midfield powerhouse Scott McTominay who, over the past couple of years was enjoying his football for Scotland but was part of a dysfunctional Manchester United team. He has turned into the player Red Devils fans always knew was there, a superb box-to-box midfielder, and McTominay has weighed in with five goals, with a habit of scoring on the big occasions.  

Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has completed his move to PSG, and that has given an opportunity to Brazilian wide-man David Neres, while Matteo Politano can also play out wide. Midfield ace Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa got in on the act in the 3-2 win over Atalanta with two assists, and Napoli really showed their title credentials in that match, fighting back to beat a team which was unbeaten in 15 league games.

Capocannoniere leader Mateo Retegui gave La Dea a lead, but goals from Politano and McTominay turned the game around. Ademola Lookman levelled for Atalanta, but then Lukaku popped up with a 78^th-minute winner. The result not only strengthened Napoli’s hand, it also dealt a heavy blow to Atalanta’s own title hopes.       

 

Timid Juve need to be brave

While Napoli under Conte are showing plenty of steel and ambition, Juventus, for so long a team renowned for relentlessness and a clinical ability to beat all before them, have been struggling to turn draws into wins. I Bianconeri are playing tidy football, but have lost the cutting edge, and that was painfully evident as they failed to test the Brugges keeper in midweek. With plenty of possession, Motta’s team only managed five shots in the whole game and just one on target, and the draw left them a place below the seeded play-off spots.

Three league draws on the bounce have seen Juventus fall off the pace at home too, but they came good in a six-pointer against AC Milan with goals from Samuel Mbangula and Tim Weah. In that match, I Bianconeri registered 15 shots and six on target. That is the level they need to hit consistently, and with the likes of Dusan Vlahovic and Kenan Yildiz in the side, the Old Lady does have a threat, though the transfer window could see a late move for 24-year-old Vlahovic with Premier League giants Chelsea and Arsenal monitoring the striker.    

 

History

With 28 wins to 19 Juventus have bossed the head-to-head encounters with Napoli, but when the two teams met in September in Turin, they played out a 0-0 draw. 

Napoli’s recent form has been superb with six wins on the bounce, while Juventus have won just one and lost one while drawing four of the last six.

I Partenopei have won eight and lost two at home, while Juventus are unbeaten away from home with four wins and six draws. But Juventus have failed to win on their last five visits to Naples, and I don’t think they are about to break that sequence on Saturday.

 

Betting Tip

Napoli are favourites at a price of 2.08 to win, with Juventus at 3.31 and the draw is at SBOTOP odds of 2.86.

This is a crucial game for both teams and it could turn out to be a tactical war of attrition, but I’m backing Conte to get the better of his former team, who he led to three Scudetto success over 10 years ago.    

   

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