Serie A Napoli vs Juventus tip preview: Italian giants go head to head in title race six-pointer
This weekend's Serie A action kicks off with Friday's huge clash between Napoli and Juventus in a title six-pointer. Tipstrr football expert Sergiu Baltuta assesses the chances of both in-form teams.
What a game Serie A has in store for us this weekend: it's first vs second, best attack vs best defence, and south vs north, all wrapped up in a tasty top-of-the-table clash between Napoli and Juventus at Stadio Maradona on Friday night.
Napoli are leaders and will remain so regardless of the result in this game, as they are seven points ahead of Juventus and AC Milan, and victory here would put Luciano Spaletti's team in a very strong position to win their first Scudetto in 33 years.
On the other hand, a win for Juventus would close the gap to four points and ensure a thrilling title race in the second part of the season with at least three teams involved.
Defeated by Inter in their first match after the World Cup break, Napoli recovered well to bounce back with an easy 2-0 win at Sampdoria (despite missing a penalty), a result that consolidated top spot, as then-second Milan could only manage a 2-2 draw against AS Roma.
Spaletti's team now return home, where they are yet to play this year, and home form has been an important aspect of Napoli's excellent performance this season.
Osimhen is only the second African player in Serie A's history to end three consecutive seasons with at least 10 goals scored, following George Weah between 1996 and 1998, and is without a doubt the main threat to Juve's defence.
On top of that, with only seven goals conceded, "La Signora" have the best defence in Serie A and probably the whole of Europe at this stage of the campaign, having kept no fewer than 12 clean sheets this season, five more than Napoli.
It's been one year since his last goal in Serie A, which just happened to be scored against Napoli in their 1-1 draw at the beginning of 2022
That draw was just one of the seven times in their last eight encounters that both teams have found the net, the only exception being Napoli's 1-0 win in the corresponding fixture two seasons ago. Will we see more of the same on Friday night?