After many years of ruling Serie A, this may be the end of Juventus's reign. Napoli find themselves at the top of the Serie A table after 24 games and can put themselves at a five point gap between them and 2nd place Juventus with a win and could change the balance in Serie A with a win. 

Form

Although Napoli lost to Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-finals they have had a fantastic start to 2016. They haven't lost a game in Serie A including blowouts against Empoli and Frosinone. But they narrowly beat Carpi in their last match and beat a worn down Lazio team in their most recent fixtures. Napoli currently have a two point lead over Juventus and have a 10 point lead over 3rd place Fiorentina.

Essentially it's a two team race right now for the Serie A crown. Napoli also have the Europa League to deal with as the Round of 32 fixtures begin. They face Villarreal at home next week as they look to make a run in the Europa League as well although their main focus should be in Serie A. After this big match against Juve, Napoli faced Villarreal and AC Milan next week.

Juventus had a really slow start to the Serie A season but they are one of the hottest teams in the Europe right now and have sprung back to life. After starting near the bottom of the table at the start of the season, Juve now find themselves in 2nd place and are only two points behind Napoli and could be first if they take all three points this weekend. Juve are currently only focused on catching Napoli right now as they have a eight point lead on Fiorentina and a nine point lead on Inter Milan.

Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images

They recently beat Frosinone 2-0 and are unbeaten to start the year. They also are looking to advance to the Coppa Italia finals after a great first leg where they beat Inter Milan 3-0. Juve also have the Champions League to deal with as they face giants Bayern Munich in the Round of 16. Although they are heavy underdogs, with the form that they are in now, Juventus should be given a chance to knock off the German Giants. After a horrible start to the season, Juventus are still in contention for the two Italian trophies and the Champions League and all seems well now. 

Team News

Juventus will be missing a ton of key players as Giorgio Chiellini, Martin Caceres, Mario Mandzukic, Mario Lemina, and Kwadwoh Asamoah  are all out for this fixture. 

As for Napoli they are healthy and with Alberto Grassi being the only injured player they should be at full strength. 

What They're Saying

When asked about not being in first place in Serie A, Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba answered : "We're not first and it's a bit of a slap in the face for us, isn't it?" to Sky Sport Italia (via ESPNFC)

"Winning the title for a fifth time in a row would be a dream, given the size of the task. It was unthinkable to predict we would win 14 in a row after such a difficult start." said goalie Gianluigi Buffon to Juventus's official website (via ESPNFC)

Prediction 

This will be a very strong test for Napoli and they will be happy to pick up even a draw in what will be a tough atmosphere to play at Juventus stadium. But the Old Lady are in tip top form and even the injuries can't seem to slow them down. Juventus take all three points in what is a very tight contest. 

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About the author
Vijay Vemu
Vijay is a sports journalist who covers mainly the NBA and soccer. He is a credential reporter on the Chicago Fire and also covers NBA for VAVEL as well. He is also a editor for Mash Chicago, the publication of the Chicago Tribune. He is also a contributor at SB Nation's Blog A Bull and Big East Coast Bias as well as writing on European Soccer as well. He plans on attending the University of Illnois at Chicago (UIC) in the fall with a major in computer science. You can follow him on Twitter : @VJVemu