It surely didn’t calm Neapolitan nerves when Juventus bought Napoli star striker Gonzalo Higuaín in 2016 or lured successful manager Maurizio Sarri to Turin to win his first-ever national title.
With Napoli’s most recent Scudetto dating all the way back to 1990, the Partenopei will hope to beat Juventus at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in this top-of-the-table clash to inch closer to their first championship in over 30 years.
The Georgian Juggler: Khvicha ‘Kvaradona’ Kvaratskhelia
Whereas archenemies Juventus tend to attract stars, looking to buy from the most prestigious clubs in the world, Napoli are used to fishing in somewhat smaller ponds – picking up club legends like Marek Hamsik (all-time record for matches) and Dries Mertens (all-time goal scorer) from the Serie B and Eredivisie respectively.
One of this season’s new squad members even came over from Georgian Erovnuli Liga runners-up Dinamo Batumi. Nobody expected that a player from the Georgian league, one Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, would turn into Serie A’s most talked-about player before the World Cup break. With a whopping 16 goal involvements in his first 16 matches for the Partenopei in all competitions (8 goals, 8 assists), Kvaratskhelia certainly caught the eye of the world. With five of those coming in the Champions League (2 goals, 3 assists in 370 minutes), Kvartskhelia’s impact drew up comparisons with that of another former great, with the Napoli fans already dubbing their winger ‘Kvaradona’.
In Serie A, Kvaratskhelia still leads all players for total take-ons (85), opposition half take-ons (70) and opposition box take-ons (12), while also recording the most attacking sequence involvements from open play per 90 minutes (min. 990 minutes played), despite having been out of the running with a back injury for a couple of matches. Yet to score or assist in 2023, the Neapolitans will hope that ‘Kvaradona’ will help them catch the Juventus backline off guard.
Max Allegri: pragmatism brings home the bacon
Before their clash with Serie A leaders Napoli, Juventus are in second place with the best defence in the league – by far. The Bianconeri conceded just seven goals, at least six fewer than any other side in the Italian competition, with their defence among the very best in Europe’s Top 5 leagues. Max Allegri’s squad will travel to Naples with a record of eight consecutive wins – their longest such run since December 2018 (also under Allegri) – and, even more astounding, eight consecutive clean sheets. Juventus recorded 12 shutouts in their opening 17 matches this Serie A campaign, the second-best defensive start to a season in competition history (after Cagliari’s 13 in 1966-67).
After a wobbly start, pragmatic manager Max Allegri has really turned things around. Over the last eight matchdays, Juventus improved in every aspect of the game, compared to the opening nine matches of the season: scoring more often and recording more Expected Goals per game themselves, all the while conceding 0 goals from about 0.7 Expected Goals against per game. Eight straight wins in their last eight games meant that they almost doubled their points tally compared to their first nine matches of the season (24 to 13).
Allegri’s defensive approach – dropping deep even at home against relegation strugglers this season – resulted in a very strong run in recent months, but how long can that streak continue? Juventus conceded just seven goals, but recorded an Expected Goals Against value of 18.1, meaning that they conceded about 11 goals fewer than could have been expected based on the quality of their opponents’ shots. The difference between their actual conceded goals and their Expected Goals is the biggest positive difference in Europe’s Top 5 leagues. Another clean sheet in the clash with Napoli would mean the Bianconeri’s longest run without conceding since March 2018 (also under Allegri) and could bring Max closer to his seventh-ever Serie A title. Not bad for such a defensive-minded manager.
