Napoli and Juve are clashing in the derby of the round in the Italian Serie A. Both sides need to win, Napoli to continue its pursuit for the international competitions, and Juve, on the other hand, to stay ahead Inter and Lazio.
Preview
Napoli is in one of the worst crises in the last decade. Partenopei are looking very pale, without any motivation, and above all, don’t have the chemistry on the field. It is probably why this team hasn’t won in six straight Serie A matches at home and didn’t lose in just one of the previous five events in this competition. The defensive part of the team is awful, particularly at San Paolo, with two goals conceded in five of the last six home fixtures. Gattuso’s arrival didn’t improve anything, and all those who believed that he might tighten up the back line are very disappointed. Napoli simply needs to stay unbeaten here du to the fact that they have 7 points fewer than Milan on the sixth place in the standings, the one which leads to Europa League qualifiers.
When many thought that Juve might collapse and finally end its reign, Cristiano Ronaldo and the guys shifted into a higher gear. Just to show that they have a much bigger reserve than anyone expects. The demolition of Roma in the Italian Cup showcased a lot of things, among others that once Juventus starts pounding, there is no stopping, something they didn’t have before the Portuguese’s arrival. Only one game in the latest 10 the Old Lady played hasn’t seen over 2.5 goals, and during the same stretch, Juventus scored at least twice in each but the loss at home to Lazio, 1-3. Sarri’s influence on the game-style is also visible, as the team prefers to dictate the tempo, instead of laying back once they have the advantage.
Head to head
If there is a team against whom Napoli doesn’t like to play, it is Juve. The Italian champions recorded four wins and a loss in the previous five H2H events, scoring nine goals in the latest three victories. Their domination was obvious in all the vital games, with the Old Lady beating the rivals from the south in every important contest over the past decade.
Prediction
From all the above mentioned, we can draw only one conclusion – Juventus is going to win. Disregard all factors regarding the derby, the high-intensity match, the rivalry, and put the facts on the paper. Once you do that, our pick here will be much understandable to you. Napoli isn’t a shadow of the team they used to be two, three years ago, and even then, Juventus dominated in their matchups. With Gatusso as the head coach, hosts lost their flamboyancy upfront, which was really the only weapon they had against other teams. The former defensive midfielder thinks that he can defend with this crew, which in our opinion, is a ridiculous idea. So we suggest betting on Juve’s win here, and if you want a bigger profit, go with Juventus to score in both halves. After Roma, they will try to use the momentum created to keep on going in the same rhythm. If you decide to bet at BetXChange, plain win sits at 1.11, and suggestion with goals sits at 1.66.
