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Juventus welcome a Napoli side who are likely to rumble following the recent woes at the San Paolo. A win for the away side could spell disaster for the Old Lady’s Scudetto hopes and Mauro Camoranesi’s fractured rib will mean more hard work for his team-mates.

Juventus Blowing Hot And Cold

Juventus welcome Napoli to the Stadio Olimpico this weekend and they will not be looking forward to facing a team who are wounded from a six match winless streak. Claudio Ranieri’s men will know all about the Partenopei having lost to them back in October by a 2-1 scoreline. Since then, both clubs have endured mixed fortunes in Serie A, but the Old Lady will be hoping to build on last week’s 2-0 win over Palermo.

Mohamed Sissoko and David Trezeguet did the damage in Sicily in order to close the gap on Inter to nine points. They are still some way off the pace, but with the Nerazzurri hosting Roma on Sunday night, the Bianconeri will be looking to take full advantage in every sense. Napoli’s woeful form may play into Juve’s hands. The cunning Old Lady has always known how to treat a wounded animal and will be looking to feast on some much needed points.

Claudio Ranieri’s side suffered a major blow in midweek during their tie against Chelsea. Apart from the 1-0 defeat, the Italians also lost Mauro Camoranesi for at least four weeks. The Italian international was crunched by a hard tackle from Frank Lampard. It was the World Cup winner who came out worse off as he broke a rib by falling awkwardly.

Juve will need to put all their recent trouble behind them. The team cannot allow themselves to be distracted against a Napoli side who have already proven they can beat La Vecchia Signora. In the last six matches between these two teams, the Turin giants have won three times, drawn once and lost twice. The losses to Napoli have never been at home during these six ties and thus Juve will be confident of keeping their good record in Turin intact.

Napoli Sliding Down The Table

After being the surprise package of the first half of the season, Napoli have yet to pick up a win in 2009. Defeats to Genoa, Palermo, Fiorentina, Roma and draws against Udinese and Bologna have seen the team in an unstoppable slide down towards the bottom half of the standings.

The team just hasn’t been able to get alive and kicking this year, and they will need to arrest their drop if European hopes are to be fulfilled. Valuable points have been dropped against direct rivals for a shot at continental football next term and it’s not looking good. The club have been locked in a press silence for the last week. The lack of communication led a large number of fans to confront the players and staff at their Castelvolturno training ground on Wednesday evening. The angry faithful will have only added to the growing tension, and it’s not what the club would have wanted.

Preparing for games against Juventus is never easy, but the recent trouble surrounding Edy Reja’s side could help fire up the players and cause a shock upset in Turin. Points are desperately needed and three against Juve will seem like six given the negative situation Napoli find themselves in. A win in Turin will see the team reacquaint themselves with the top half of the Serie A table. However, only two wins away from home all season may hamper chances of glory come 20:30 CET on Saturday night.

Form Guide (Serie A)

Juventus

Feb 22: Palermo 2-0 Juventus

Feb 15: Juventus 1-1 Sampdoria

Feb 8: Catania 1-2 Juventus

Jan 31: Juventus 2-3 Cagliari

Jan 28: Udinese 2-1 Juventus

Jan 24: Juventus 1-0 Fiorentina

Napoli

Feb 22: Napoli 0-1 Genoa

Feb 14: Napoli 1-1 Bologna

Feb 8: Palermo 2-1 Napoli

Jan 31: Napoli 2-2 Udinese

Jan 28: Fiorentina 2-1 Napoli

Jan 25: Napoli 0-3 Roma

Team News

Juventus: Mauro Camoranesi will be out after suffering a fractured rib against Chelsea. Jorge Andrade is still out for the long term while Cristiano Zanetti and Paolo De Ceglie are missing with minor knocks. The rest of the team trained regularly on Thursday and no-one reported any further problems.

Probable Starting XI 4-4-2: Buffon, Grygera, Mellberg, Chiellini, Molinaro, Marchionni, Sissoko, Marchisio, Giovinco, Iaquinta, Trezeguet.

Napoli: Walter Gargano will miss the trip to Turin after suffering a bruise to his left foot during training. The midfielder has been ordered to rest by doctor Mariani and he should be back next week. The rest of the squad trained as normal, but Genaro Iezzo, Matteo Gianello, Luca Grava and Marcelo Zalayeta are all out with various injuries. Daniele Mannini remains suspended after the Court of Arbitrations decision to ban him for a year after turning up late to a doping test.

Probable Starting XI 3-5-2: Navarro, Santacroce, Cannavaro, Contini, Maggio, Blasi, Pazienza, Hamsik, Vitale, Russotto, Lavezzi.

Players To Watch

Juventus: Keep an eye out for David Trezeguet. The Frenchman was allowed a few minutes against Chelsea, but showed his prowess as he almost scored with his first touch of the ball. The hitman wants to be a regular in Ranieri’s team and he is itching to prove he hasn’t lost his magic despite his recent injury woes.

Napoli: The spotlight will be on Marek Hamsik. He has been Napoli’s leader and talisman this season. The Slovakian has been outstanding, but he has been firing blanks recently. However, Hamsik raises his game against the big teams and thus he could be the main threat for Juve.

Prediction

Juventus against Napoli is always a special game for both players and fans. In recent times results between them have been closer than expected, with even a few shock results served up. The Bianconeri will be confident of getting the right result at home, but Napoli will not be heading to Turin for some sightseeing. Expect a hard battle, especially in midfield. The Azzurri will be fired up and they are capable of doing the business against Juve.

Juventus 2-1 Napoli

Small in stature but big in talent, Sebastian Giovinco is the rising star of Italian football. Tipped by many as the heir to Alessandro Del Piero’s throne, the 22-year-old is learning his trade with Juventus. Yet, while the diminutive attacking midfielder has the football world at his feet and would be assured a starting place in the vast majority of line-ups, such is Juve’s embarrassment of riches that the youngster is being bedded in gradually. FIFA.com invites you to discover one of Serie A’s stars of tomorrow.

Making a point
Born in Turin to a Calabrian mother and Sicilian father, Sebastian learned everything he knows in Juventus’ youth teams, making steady progress with I Bianconeri and earning a call to the national youth set-up in 2003.

Despite his subsequent elevation to the first team, Giovinco almost looks out of place on the pitch, dwarfed as he is by Serie A’s towering, athletic defenders. Yet as soon as the ball comes his way he springs into life, throwing his imposing opponents off balance thanks to a low centre of gravity and extraordinary technique, making the game look ridiculously easy in the process.

What makes the pocket-sized midfielder even more of a threat to defences is an innate ability to read the game and dead-ball skills that appear to have been inherited from his team-mate and role model Del Piero. An established favourite with Juventus fans, Giovinco has been dubbed ‘The Atomic Ant’ in recognition of his size and explosiveness on the ball.

Whenever he scores, he celebrates by putting his thumb on top of his head and leaving his little finger pointing to the sky. As he explained in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com, there is a reason behind the curious gesture. “I’m not very big and many people told me over the years that I would never reach the top because of my size. That’s why I do that celebration every time I score a nice goal. It’s my way of saying that I’m getting bigger.”

Staking a claim
Having won practically everything there is to win at youth level, the crown prince of Italian football is staking an increasingly compelling claim for regular first-team action. After making his debut under Didier Deschamps in a Serie B match against Bologna in May 2007, Giovinco was loaned out to Serie A outfit Empoli the following season, where he rapidly established himself as the heartbeat of the team, making 37 league appearances in all. And when he returned to Turin, the problem of finding a place for the young prodigy became even more acute.

Unfortunately for the rising star, thanks to the renaissance of Del Piero, the fine form of Brazilian striker Amauri and the return of David Trezeguet, Juve coach Claudio Ranieri already has plenty of options up front.

“I can promise you that Sebastian will be playing more from now on. He deserves it,” commented Ranieri recently, perhaps fearing that his little playmaker would be tempted by the overtures being made by other clubs with big budgets. What the rest of Italy wanted to know, however, was what position did Ranieri have in mind for him? While Giovinco is capable of playing on the left or right and even as a striker, his agility and vision make him the ideal candidate for the playmaking role.

“Playing on the wings is not ideal for me because you always have to get back and defend,” comments the youngster. “The important thing, though, is to be ready when Ranieri gives me the call, even though it’s not easy to play every so often knowing that it’s going to be a while again before I get another game.

“I also believe that Alessandro (Del Piero) and I can play together,” he adds with a sense of conviction. “We both speak the same language out on the pitch. Even so, I need to focus on the present. That’s more important than waiting to see if I’m the heir apparent to Del Piero.”

While still in his early 20s, Giovinco is desperate for some regular football, preferably with Juventus, and not least because the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ is coming up fast.

“I really don’t know if I’ll be going and to be honest, I’m not very confident about it. I think Mr Lippi already has a list of 23 players in his mind and they’ll be the ones who’ll be going to the Confederations Cup in June.” If the jinking Giovinco is to catch Lippi’s eye before then, he will need to impress in Juve’s remaining championship and UEFA Champions League matches.