20.01.2021 » Supercoppa Italiana final preview: Juventus vs Napoli
Juventus will come up against Napoli in the Supercoppa Italiana final at the Mapei Stadium tonight. The Bianconeri have endured a difficult campaign by their high standards and they are presently placed sixth on the Serie A table, 10 points behind leaders AC Milan with a game in hand. They are still third-favourites for the title with the bookmakers although their form suggests they will struggle to make it to the top 3. Napoli, on the other hand, have fared better than the Serie A holders and they are currently two points and three places ahead of the Bianconeri after the same number of matches. However, Juventus' pedigree means they are still the betting favourites in the final with this popular bookmaker as well as others.
Juventus vs Napoli - A good old rivalry:
Two old rivals meet again...
Both teams will be eager to win their first silverware of the campaign and the game will be intriguing to watch particularly after the drama involving the clubs earlier this term.
Juventus were handed a 3-0 forfeit win against Napoli by Lega Serie A after the Naples outfit failed to travel for the game at the Allianz Stadium citing the coronavirus cases within the squad.
In addition to this, Napoli were docked one point, but they managed to reverse the decision after a successful appeal at the Italian National Olympic Committee last month.
Hence, the league game will be replayed at some point, but prior to that, the Serie A rivals will renew their fierce rivalry in the Supercoppa Italiana final.
Key stats
The teams previously met in the Coppa Italia final in June last year, where Napoli prevailed on penalties (4-2) after a 0-0 scoreline.
It was their first piece of silverware since the Supercoppa Italiana title in 2014. Prior to that game, there had been 29 games between the sides where at least one goal was scored.
This will be Napoli's fourth appearance in the Supercoppa Italiana. The previous three have all come against Juventus and they have won two of them.
Juventus are making their 16th appearance in the final. They have won eight and lost seven of those. They were beaten 3-1 by Lazio last season.
Team news
Juventus are set to be without the likes of Alex Sandro, Juan Cuadrado and Matthijs de Ligt, who have tested positive for COVID-19. Elsewhere, Paulo Dybala is out on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury.
For Napoli, Victor Osimhen remains absent after contracting the coronavirus. Andrea Petagna, who has recovered from a calf issue could lead the line. Club-record goal-scorer Dries Mertens may feature off the bench with the lack of fitness after an ankle injury.
Predicted line-ups:
Juventus (4-4-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Merih Demiral, Leonardo Bonucci, Gianluca Frabotta; Federico Bernardeschi, Adrien Rabiot, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Chiesa; Alvaro Morata, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Napoli (4-2-3-1): David Ospina; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kostas Manolas, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Tiemoue Bakayoko, Fabian Ruiz; Hirving Lozano, Piotr Zielinski, Lorenzo Insigne; Andrea Petagna.
Predicted score:
Juventus are missing a couple of key defenders, but they still have plenty of experience in the attack with the presence of Ronaldo and Morata, who have excelled as a pair. Napoli, meanwhile, won’t have the services of Osimhen, and Petagna has huge responsibility on his hands up front with Mertens' involvement also doubtful. We are fancying the Bianconeri to edge the contest in a 2-1 result, which is also an excellent final score to back at the betting stakes.
Juventus 2-1 Napoli
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus in the Italian Super Cup is on January 20, against Napoli. You can watch Juventus vs Napoli, Alcoyano vs Real Madrid, Cornella vs Barcelona, Fulham vs Manchester United, Man City vs Aston Villa, and Augsburg vs Bayern Munich, all matches provided from our football streaming game pages.
Juventus next game:
Juventus vs Napoli kick-off time (20-01-2021):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+7: 03:00
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+6: 02:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+4.30: 00:30
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+1: 21:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 21:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 20:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-4: 16:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-5: 15:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-8: 12:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / theseriea.com / goal.com
