Juventus clash with Napoli, Rome derby to set Serie A tone this season

While Juventus are favored to capture Serie A again, Napoli and Roma are looking to snap that streak. They’ll both need big wins this coming weekend.

There’s no time to waste for defending Serie A champions Juventus and Napoli as the two prepare this week to face one another this Saturday in Turin.

The following day, the heated Roman derby between Roma and Lazio will be played at the Stadio Olimpico.

And the season is just a few days old.

As a result, we may have a snapshot early on regarding whether Juventus will set the pace again or if challengers such as Napoli and Roma can finally win the league championship. Never have two big games come so early in the season.

Matchday 2 offers up Juventus-Napoli and Lazio-Roma, two gems that could set the tone early for this season. While it’s true that the season is a 38-game marathon, these two games will set up an early title race following this past weekend’s results.

Juventus have generally gotten the better of Napoli and will be very hard to defeat at home. There will also be a rivalry within a rivalry given that Juve’s new manager Maurizio Sarri will be facing his former club. Sarri’s three-season spell at Napoli ended in 2018.

The 60 year old, who was born in Naples, became Juventus’ new coach this summer after spending a season at Chelsea. It should be noted that Sarri was not at the opener (he will also miss the Napoli game) after being diagnosed recently with pneumonia.

The rivalry between Juventus and Napoli intensified during the 1980s when Michel Platini and Diego Maradona were at the height of their careers. Napoli was able to win their first Serie A title in 1987 and a second in 1990, the last time the club won the championship.

These days, the rivalry features Cristiano Ronaldo and Dries Mertens. Juventus and Napoli both opened the season on the road this past Saturday with wins against Parma and Fiorentina, respectively.

Like last season, Juve did just enough to snuff out an opponent, defeating Parma 1-0 on a rare goal by veteran defender Giorgio Chiellini. While it should be worrisome that Juventus were unable to score more goals (Ronaldo had plenty of chances and even had a goal pulled back following a VAR decision for being offside), it is only the first game.

Napoli, however, also managed a win in what turned into a thrilling 4-3 victory at Fiorentina. The reverse is true of Napoli. The goals came, but conceding three wasn’t a good look a week before playing the league champions.

Roma, meanwhile, have to contend with city rivals Lazio in a game where anyone can win. Tensions are always high whenever these sides meet, both on the field and the stands. The game divides a city, but for Roma it will be an early test, an indication of their competitiveness this season.

Roma are coming off Sunday’s 3-3 draw at Genoa, while Lazio were victorious 3-0 at Sampdoria. For Roma it was an inauspicious start. A defeat versus Lazio and Roma could be stuck near the bottom of the table with the league just a week old.

It may be early in the season, but the big games are already here. This weekend could very well set the tone for the season. It remains to be seen whether Napoli and Roma are up to the task.