30 November 2017
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.
A look at the standings
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.
BACK ON TRACK
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.
HIGH-FLYING OPPONENTS
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.
MATCH STATS
- The all-time record through 162 matches beginning in the 1929/30 season stands at 74 Juventus wins, 36 Napoli wins and 52 draws.
- Juventus has scored in 43 games in a row in Serie A, equaling the Serie A record set by the Bianconeri (February 2013-March 2014).
- The last eight goals scored by Juventus in Serie A have all come in the second half.
- Napoli have taken the most shots in Serie A this season (257) while Juventus are second (241).
- Marek Hamsik needs one goal to match Diego Maradona (115 goals) for all-time leading scorer at Napoli
