Game Time Thread: Juventus vs. Napoli

Over the years of this blog’s existence, the trip to Naples has always been one of the more interesting matchups Juventus has more from the simple fact that the two sides don’t have much of a fondness for each other. No matter where the clubs are in the Serie A table — and it’s usually been toward the top — Juventus playing Napoli in Naples has not lacked for intrigue and/or interest.

This season’s visit to Naples is very much not lacking for

Thanks to Juventus’ eight-game winning (and shutout) streak, tonight’s matchup between the Bianconeri and Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium is a top-of-the-table clash between the season-long leaders and the second-place squad that has shot up the table. It’s not the position we thought Juventus would be in as we watched the World Cup break quickly approached, but it’s where Max Allegri’s squad is now.

And with a win over Napoli in Naples, Juve won’t just maintain their second-place standing at the very least, they would also move within four points of the Serie A leaders.

That’s ... yeah, that’s just crazy to think about knowing how this season started.

But here we are. Here is Juventus, on an eight-game winning streak, with the chance to get within striking distance of the league leaders. And here’s Napoli, after getting back on track this past weekend, wanting to make a statement against one of its biggest rivals.

To the neutral, it’s a juicy-as-hell kind of matchup filled with storylines.

For Juventus, it’s very much a massive fixture for the simple fact that the Scudetto race is so close to being busted wide open again. You didn’t expect Juve to be the club potentially responsible for that when they were playing like crap in October, but here we are, folks.

So why not keep the good times rolling, right?

MATCH INFO

When: Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.

Where: Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Naples, Italy.

Official kickoff time: 8:45 p.m. local time in Italy and around Europe, 7:45 p.m. in the United Kingdom, 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, 11:45 a.m. Pacific time.

STARTING LINEUPS

Juventus starting XI (3-5-1-1): Szczesny; Danilo, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Chiesa, McKennie, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Di Maria; Milik.

Juventus bench: Perin, Pinsoglio, Gatti, Rugani, Miretti, Paredes, Fagioli, Kean, Soulé, Iling-Junior.

Napoli starting XI (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim Min-jae, Mario Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.

HOW TO WATCH

Television: BT Sport 1 (United Kingdom).

Online/Streaming: Paramount+ (United States); fuboTV Canada (Canada); BT Sport app, BTSport.com (United Kingdom); DAZN, Sky Go Italia (Italy).

Other live viewing options can be found here, and as always, you can also follow along with us live and all the stupid things we say on Twitter. If you haven’t already, join the community on Black & White & Read All Over, and join in the discussion below.