Played
March 1, 2013 7:45 PM GMT
Stadio San Paolo — Napoli
Referee: D. Orsato
Attendance: 60000
March 1, 2013 7:45 PM GMT
Stadio San Paolo — Napoli
Referee: D. Orsato
Attendance: 60000
43′
Gökhan Inler
Napoli-Juventus Preview: Last chance saloon for Partenopei
Walter Mazzarri's side have struggled in recent weeks and know another slip-up against the league leaders on Friday would strengthen the Bianconeri's grip on the Scudetto
By Craig Turnbull
Getty Images
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
|
NAPOLI
De Sanctis Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Britos Mesto, Behrami, Inler, Armero Hamsik Cavani, Insigne |
JUVENTUS
Buffon Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini L'steiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Asamoah Vucinic, Giovinco |
Napoli only have a minor injury concern ahead of their must-win clash against Juventus on Friday at the Stadio San Paolo.
Alessandro Gamberini will be assessed before the game which means Miguel Britos may deputise for the 31-year-old.
The Partenopei have been struggling in recent weeks and Giandonmenico Mesto and Pablo Armero may be sacrificed for Christian Maggio and Juan Zuniga.
Meanwhile, Antonio Conte can field a full-strength side with Giorgio Chiellini returning to the fray after being out since December.
Paolo De Ceglie, Nicklas Bendtner and Simone Pepe are all unavailable, while Nicolas Anelka and Martin Caceres did not train on Wednesday because of back pain.
There are no suspensions for either side to contend with.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- Napoli have failed to win any of their last five matches in all competitions, and have drawn their last three consecutive encounters in Serie A.

- The Partenopei have not lost to Juventus at the Stadio San Paolo in the league for six games. A run which stretches back to October 2000.
- Edinson Cavani (pictured, right) who is Serie A's leading marksman, has failed to score in his last 500 minutes of football.
- Juventus can stretch their lead at the top of Serie A to nine points with a win on Friday, with only 11 games left to play.
- The Bianconeri's biggest away win against Napoli is 6-2, way back in 1974-75 season.
- The Old Lady are undefeated in their last four league games against the Naples club.
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
Napoli 0-2 Juventus
- 18.14 %
-
Napoli 1-2 Juventus
- 17.52 %
-
Napoli 1-3 Juventus
- 10.25 %
| Serie A (ITA1) | 1 Mar 2013 | Napoli 1 - Juventus 1 | |
| Serie A (ITA1) | 20 Oct 2012 | Juventus 2 - Napoli 0 | |
| Italy - TIM Supercup (TIMS) | 11 Aug 2012 | Juventus 4 - Napoli 2 | |
| Italy - Coppa Italia (ITAC) | 20 May 2012 | Juventus 0 - Napoli 2 | |
| Serie A (ITA1) | 1 Apr 2012 | Juventus 3 - Napoli 0 |
|
|
||
| 19 May 2013 | Roma 2 - Napoli 1 | ITA1 |
| 12 May 2013 | Napoli 2 - Siena 1 | ITA1 |
| 8 May 2013 | Bologna 0 - Napoli 3 | ITA1 |
| 5 May 2013 | Napoli 3 - Inter 1 | ITA1 |
| 27 Apr 2013 | Pescara 0 - Napoli 3 | ITA1 |
|
|
||
| 18 May 2013 | Sampdoria 3 - Juventus 2 | ITA1 |
| 11 May 2013 | Juventus 1 - Cagliari 1 | ITA1 |
| 8 May 2013 | Atalanta 0 - Juventus 1 | ITA1 |
| 5 May 2013 | Juventus 1 - Palermo 0 | ITA1 |
| 28 Apr 2013 | Torino 0 - Juventus 2 | ITA1 |
| 1 | Morgan De Sanctis | Goalkeeper |
| 5 | Miguel Angel Britos | Defender |
| 14 | Hugo Armando Campagnaro | Defender |
| 28 | Paolo Cannavaro | Defender |
| 11 | Christian Maggio | Midfielder |
| 17 | Marek Hamsik | Midfielder |
| 18 | Juan Camilo Zúñiga | Defender |
| 85 | Valon Behrami | Midfielder |
| 88 | Gökhan Inler | Midfielder |
| 7 | Edinson Cavani | Striker |
| 19 | Goran Pandev | Striker |
| 22 | Antonio Rosati | Goalkeeper |
| 14 | Rolando | Defender |
| 2 | Gianluca Grava | Defender |
| 16 | Giandomenico Mesto | Midfielder |
| 55 | Alessandro Gamberini | Defender |
| 4 | Marco Donadel | Midfielder |
| 13 | Omar El Kaddouri | Midfielder |
| 20 | Blerim Dzemaili | Midfielder |
| 27 | Pablo Armero | Defender |
| 11 | Emanuele Calaiò | Striker |
| 24 | Lorenzo Insigne | Striker |
| 1 | Gianluigi Buffon | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Giorgio Chiellini | Defender |
| - | Federico Peluso | Defender |
| 15 | Andrea Barzagli | Defender |
| 19 | Leonardo Bonucci | Defender |
| 26 | Stephan Lichtsteiner | Defender |
| 8 | Claudio Marchisio | Midfielder |
| 21 | Andrea Pirlo | Midfielder |
| 23 | Arturo Vidal | Midfielder |
| 9 | Mirko Vučinić | Striker |
| 12 | Sebastian Giovinco | Striker |
| 30 | Marco Storari | Goalkeeper |
| 34 | Rubinho | Goalkeeper |
| 33 | Mauricio Isla | Defender |
| 6 | Paul Pogba | Midfielder |
| 20 | Simone Padoin | Midfielder |
| 22 | Kwadwo Asamoah | Midfielder |
| 24 | Emanuele Giaccherini | Midfielder |
| 39 | Luca Marrone | Midfielder |
| 27 | Fabio Quagliarella | Striker |
| 32 | Alessandro Matri | Striker |
| Marek Hamsik | |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Squad Number: | 17 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
With Cavani out-of-sorts at the minute, the onus is on Napoli to find goals from other areas of the pitch and the Slovakian might just be the man to solve their striking woes. He seems to have a habit of scoring against the Bianconeri - with six goals in 17 appearances against the Serie A holders. Technically gifted and blessed with a natural athleticism, the 25-year-old will have to be kept quiet on Friday if Juventus want to come away with a result from Naples.
| Sebastian Giovinco | |
| Position: | Striker |
| Squad Number: | 12 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
He has been written off by many of the Bianconeri faithful and was roundly jeered by the home support in their 3-0 victory over Siena, despite scoring in the eventually comfortable victory. There is no doubt there is a question mark over the future of the diminutive forward, but he could silence the critics on Friday with a standout performance which he is more than capable of delivering.
This really is a win or bust game for Napoli if they harbour ambitions of lifting their first Scudetto since the late 1980s, but the signs are not good. Cavani is struggling to find the back of the net and nobody has stepped up to fill the void his barren spell has left. Juve, meanwhile, continue to produce results without excelling and would perhaps be quite pleased to come away with anything other than a defeat, and they might just sneak this one.
Results
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Edinson Cavani Striker Napoli |
29 | 7 |
|
|
Antonio Di Natale Striker Udinese |
23 | 4 |
|
|
Pablo Daniel Osvaldo Striker Roma |
16 | 2 |
|
|
Stephan El Shaarawy Midfielder AC Milan |
16 | 0 |
|
|
Germán Denis Striker Atalanta |
15 | 5 |
