One of the marquee matchups of the season is set for Friday night at the San Paolo in Naples as Napoli hosts Juventus in the season's first meeting of Serie A heavyweights.
Last year, Juventus earned a 2-1 win over Napoli at Allianz Stadium while drawing 1-1 at the San Paolo. The clubs also met in a thrilling Coppa Italia semifinal with the Bianconeri coming out on top 5-4 after two legs.
Here's your preview for Friday's showdown.
Juve heads into Friday night's match four points behind Napoli and two points behind Inter, who they will play the following Saturday.
The Bianconeri boast the best attack in the league with seven more goals scored than anyone else in Serie A, but look to shore up be backline who has allowed an uncharacteristic 14 goals through 14 matches. The clean sheet against Crotone is certainly a building block for Juve.
The Bianconeri returned to winning ways on Sunday night against Crotone with Mario Mandzukic, Mattia De Sciglio and Medhi Benatia finding the back of the net in a three-goal second half that saw Juventus run away 3-0 winners.
Friday's match against Napoli starts a crucial nine-day stretch for Juventus who travel to Athens to face Olympiakos on Tuesday needing a result to advance to the Champions League knockout round. The Bianconeri then host Inter at Allianz Stadium on Saturday 9 December in another top-three Serie A matchup.
Napoli are currently in the midst of a 26-match Serie A unbeaten streak, the longest in Serie A. Their 38 points is the second-best start through 14 matches in the history of Serie A behind Juventus' 39 points in the 05/06 season. At home, Napoli is averaging 2.8 goals per game and boast a 12-2-0 record overall.
Up front, the attacking trio of Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon have combined for 19 goals while the Partenopei enter Friday's match having won three straight over Genoa, Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk.
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