Top Match Tips: Juventus to continue dominance at home

Fierce foes go head to head on Saturday night as Napoli head north to take on league leaders Juventus. While ghosts of their collective pasts have informed their rivalry in previous fixtures, it is their recent summer business that is dictating the narrative this weekend. The transfer of Gonzalo Higuaín has left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Partenopei - and they will be desperate to get one over on him.

The Argentine’s transfer north embodies the rivalry itself. Juventus using their influence and impressive cash-flow to take what they want. A purchase not born from necessity, but more simply because they could. The financial gains from the sale of Paul Pogba freed Juventus to buy players just to weaken their opponents. Purchasing Higuain was a means for ‘the wealthy industrial north’ to further the divide between themselves and the 'terrone'.

Juventus’ head coach, Massimilano Allegri, is trying to focus his side on the bigger picture rather than any particular individual in the buildup. He told Juventus’ official website that “it is natural that people will talk about Higuaín before the game and indeed how he performs this season but what counts is that Juventus retain their trophies and go as far as they can in the Champions League."

With that in mind, there is certainly money to be made in this fixture courtesy of Bet365. New Bet365 customers recieve a 100% deposit bonus. When you deposit £10 or more you will qualify for a matched amount to bet with, up to £200. Given the excellent markets on offer for this Serie A contest, you stand to win money from the match.

Last year at this time Juventus had taken just 12 points from their opening 10 fixtures and sat 11 points adrift of league leaders Roma. Juventus overcame that early deficit to win their fifth consecutive Scudetto. Finding themselves in a significantly stronger position now means that Allegri’s side can focus on simply maintaining their current momentum hoping to land a psychological blow on an opponent without the pressure.

Napoli replaced Higuain with one of the top goalscorers in the Eredivisie last season in Polish forward Arkadiusz Milik. He quickly settled in Italy and netted 7 goals in his 9 appearances for the side. However, he suffered an ACL injury while on international duty and won’t be back in action until next year. His backup, Manolo Gabbiadini is suspended for Saturday’s tie leaving Dries Mertens to play in a false nine role. Not an ideal situation heading into a game against a side with such a formidable defence.

Juventus have lost 2 league games already this season, most recently to a youthful Milan side - but both losses came on the road. Juventus have been overwhelmingly dominant in Turin. Even with a poor start to last season, they have not lost in the league at home since August 2015. They have won each of their last 21 home games and in 10 of their last 11 Serie A fixtures at Juventus Stadium, they have been winning at half time - with only Udinese managing to be level at the break. You can get odds from Bet365 for Juventus to be winning at half time and full time at 2.75.

Juventus have found themselves more prone to conceding lately - allowing 1 goal in 4 of their 5 league matches at home this season. While it doesn’t seem like much, it is more than they allowed in the 16 previous matches combined. Without a proper striker available, Napoli could struggle for goals themselves, but Juventus rarely find themselves short of a goal. They’ve scored 2 or more in each of their last 9 home games. Odds on over 2.5 goals with Bet365 is 2.07.

There is no love lost between Gonzalo Higuaín and his former side. After his move the forward said they he could not stand to spend “another minute” with Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis. He felt pushed into the move by their fractured relationship and will definitely be looking for a goal tonight. The Argentine is goalless in 4 appearances, but has still managed 6 goals in 9 starts for the bianconeri. Odds on him to score anytime tonight are priced up at 1.90. Unfortunately, there are no odds available on whether he’ll celebrate his goal in front of the travelling support or if a muted celebration is on the cards.