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Juventus - Napoli
Stadio Olimpico
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As the battle for a place in next season’s Champions League hots up, third placed Juventus host Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico in Week 28. It will be a classic encounter which should offer plenty of goals and drama.
Despite being defeated by Napoli in the first part of the season, the Bianconeri are still favourites for victory and cannot afford to drop points since Fiorentina and Milan are just behind them. Napoli instead are in a mid-table position with no real ambitions at this stage of the season. However, when the Azzurri face the Old Lady it is always going to be special.
Last weekend Juve won away at Genoa while the Campani suffered a home defeat to Roma. The trip to Turin has always been a difficult one for the Azzurri. They have been successful on only six occasions in 61 ties and their last Serie A meeting ended 3-0 for the Piemontesi.
Juve boss Claudio Ranieri is convinced his men can beat Napoli on Sunday night. The Tinkerman’s bench has been shaking recently, but he will keep his job at the Olimpico as long as the Bianconeri qualify for Europe. Meanwhile, Azzurri boss Edy Reja may be leaving in June.
Ranieri will be without several important pieces of his team. Jonathan Zebina, Mauro Camoranesi and Nicola Legrottaglie are all suspended while Cristiano Zanetti is out injured for about three weeks. This means that there will be a mini-revolution in the Bianconeri starting line-up, but despite so many absentees Portuguese midfielder Tiago Mendes should be, once again, sitting on the bench.
Zlatan Grygera was outstanding against Genoa last Sunday, scoring one and setting up David Trezeguet for the second, and he will be reconfirmed. Guglielmo Stendardo will play centrally while Cristian Molinaro will return to the left-back spot after illness. Antonio Nocerino and Momo Sissoko will start in the midfield with Hasan Salihamidzic on the right side. The attacking duo will be formed by Alessandro Del Piero and Trezeguet.
Daniele Mannini and former Juve player Manuele Blasi are suspended, but the bad news for Napoli is that Marcelo Zalayeta is sidelined for the rest of the season. This is indeed a massive blow for the visitors, and El Panteron was looking forward to taking on his former team. Mariano Bogliacino should start while Emanuele Calaiò will replace the Uruguayan striker.
Keep an eye on: Alessando Del Piero (Juventus) – The Bianconeri legend gets hot when he plays against the Azzurri and he will be looking to net his 12th goal of the season.
Form guide: Juventus (W L D L W) Napoli (L W L W L)
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Juventus (probable): Buffon; Grygera, Stendardo, Chiellini, Molinaro; Salihamidzic, Nocerino, Sissoko, Nedved; Del Piero, Trezeguet
Napoli (probable): Gianello; Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini; Garics, Gargano, Bogliacino, Hamsik, Domizzi; Calaiò, Lavezzi