Crucial clashes in Serie A title race as Napoli host Roma and Juventus travel to Lazio

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  • In any other season, and perhaps in any other league, Napoli would be cantering to a first Serie A title since the days of Maradona some 30 years ago.

    Unfortunately for the Neapolitans, despite having won 22 of their 26 league games, they have yet to shake perennial winners Juventus off their tails.

    Juve have not dropped points since December 9. As for Napoli? Not since December 10. But if a weekend could throw the proverbial cat among the pigeons, this is it.

    The Old Lady – four points behind Napoli with a game in hand – travel to third-placed Lazio while the league leaders entertain a Roma side also knocking on the door of the Champions League places.

    WHY JUVENTUS WILL WIN

    Not only have Juve managed to claim maximum points since December, they in fact haven’t lost in all competitions since November when they were soundly beaten by Sampdoria.

    No team has even breached their defence this calendar year apart from Tottenham in the Champions League – which is rather handy considering no one has scored more goals than Lazio in Serie A this season (64).

    Giorgio Chiellini and Mehdi Benatia are enough to give any opposing attackers second thoughts while Gonzalo Higuain has finally hit his straps, taking six goals away from February.

    The simplest reason of all? Been there, done that. Juventus have title-winning experience right through their spine having won the last six on the trot. A big game is just normal business for them.

    WHY JUVENTUS WILL LOSE

    They are still fighting on three fronts, having emerged from an energy-sapping Coppa Italia semi-final with Atalanta on Wednesday – and there is of course a certain Wembley date to come.

    Lazio’s energy reserves also took a hit, going the distance in their extra-time penalties defeat to AC Milan in the same competition.

    Juve, however, cannot afford to pool their resources into this game entirely as they must mount a rescue mission in the Champions League against Tottenham on Wednesday.

    Their build-up has not been helped by injuries to important cogs Juan Cuadrado and Federico Bernardeschi, who had come into his own in recent weeks since his move from Fiorentina.

    Back-to-back Serie A wins have restored some of Lazio’s confidence after being humbled by Napoli and watch out for Ciro Immobile – the former Juve youth product has hit six goals in his last four games.

    WHY NAPOLI WILL WIN

    There is always expectancy surrounding Juve’s success in Serie A and it makes Napoli’s achievements already this year so astonishing.

    They have conceded the same amount of goals as their league rivals – 15 – and have shown the ability to take injuries on the chin, with left-back Mario Rui so far stepping up admirably in Faouzi Ghoulam’s absence.

    That defensive record is the reason why a free-flowing Napoli have been so good this year – adding steel to their usual silk.

    Ominously if there’s any particular area that Roma have struggled with this season it’s scoring goals, with a misfiring Edin Dzeko finding the back of the net only four times since October.

    As for Napoli’s high-octane frontline? After proving a revelation through the middle last season, the nippy Dries Mertens has continued to flourish and has hit seven from his last nine games.

    With midfielders Lorenzo Pellegrini and Maxime Gonalons, as well as right-back Rick Karsdorp sidelined, it hardly makes Roma’s day any easier.

    Good things come in small packages: Dries Mertens.

    Good things come in small packages: Dries Mertens.

    WHY NAPOLI WILL LOSE

    Napoli on paper have the easier task compared to Juventus – especially at home – but there’s enough about Roma to cause them problems.

    Chief troublemaker could well prove Cengiz Under, the 20-year-old Turk who has come alive over the last month with five strikes in his last five matches.

    Cutting in from the right, the tricky winger has a devilish left foot and can give Roma an unpredictable dimension in attack.

    Their home defeat to AC Milan aside, the Giallorossi have been pretty good nick after an awful Christmas and January racking up draws and defeats.

    Victories over Verona, Benevento and Udinese have tightened up the gap between them and fourth-placed Inter Milan to just a point.

    And even throughout that dreadful run of form they have maintained a resilience, in much part thanks to Alisson.

    The Brazil No1 is one of the most highly-sought goalkeepers in Europe – he is Serie A’s standard-bearer for clean sheets with 11 this season.

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